by Pastor Mark Moreno

The famous Benjamin Franklin challenged himself with a pretty crazy daily routine. Today’s image features his schedule. Most notably, he started off each day asking, “What good shall I do today?” and in the evening, he asked, “What good have I done today?”. His aim was to follow his 13 virtue daily improvement plan.

Interestingly enough, we all do a version of this. We try to better ourselves by eating right, working out, studying, working and living a life as a “good person”. In fact, you can find all sorts of different people that have a plan for you to follow and it will make you a “better man” or “better woman”. It often comes with a price tag.

This isn’t really how a Christian approaches life. Mostly because try as we may, we just can’t keep the routine up. We fail, we backslide, we just plain give up after a while. Even if we have the discipline to stick with such a routine, our spirit never really yields from being stubborn and selfish.

The bible passage of Micah 6:8 is famous,

“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”.

Being a better person is not found in a to do list, it is looking at the “It is DONE” list! Jesus is our Savior, and He did what we could not: He lived without sin and followed God the Father’s will. He laid down His life for you and me! He has given us forgiveness, life and salvation. He has done it all for us!

That may beg the question, “What do I do?” and this is where Micah comes in: To do justice and to love kindness is to apply God’s Word and will to your life. To recognize God is at work in your life so that you may indeed be better. You certainly won’t do it perfectly, but you will have Jesus walking with you and giving love.

My prayer is that you do strive to be better, not for your own sake, but because your family and friends need you to be at your best! And that happens when Christ is the focus of your life!

Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado