"Let's Do It, Papa"

   I began thinking about a particular verse the other day..Micah 6:8, which reads in the NIV:

"the Lord has told you what is good,
    and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
    and to walk humbly with your God."

   Writing about "do what is right" here:

http://walkinganewpath-pilgrim.blogspot.com/2015/10/a-simple-thing.html

   Writing about "loving mercy" here:

http://walkinganewpath-pilgrim.blogspot.com/2015/10/two-faces-of-mercy.html

   But I have put off, not just thinking about, because I have really done that over the past few days, but putting my thoughts into words on this page, the words "walk humbly with your God".

   How do we do that?

   As I continued to think on that this morning, this thought came from my Psalm reading devotional:

Picture yourself running to catch up with your Papa. As you reach Him, you slip your hand trustingly into His. Walking along, you eagerly look into His eyes making your request, "Papa, open my eyes, don't hide Your commands from me... make me walk in Your paths. And Papa, help me to abandon my shameful ways... give me an eagerness for Your laws and the privilege of knowing Your instructions. I love You Papa!"

The Bible tells us to come to God humbly and trusting, like a child. We see this in the psalmist's trusting reliance in God to do the good work needed in his heart and his life.

   The analogy of God as Papa made me pause. Papa is my name to my grandchildren, and I have spent much time over the years taking them on walks, hand in hand, talking and walking. Those are some of my best memories.

   "OK, take my hand. We're going to cross this street" and the small hand takes mine as we walk safely across.

   When they are small, and not yet too big to want to do it themselves, they humbly and trustingly are glad to oblige.

   Isn't that the way to "walk humbly with your God"? Without pride in what we can do. Without a sense of shame in having to trust someone else.

   When my oldest grandson, Sawyer, was of the age that he liked his Papa to read with him in bed before he went off to sleep, we were lying there with one of his books when I asked him what he would like for us to do on the next day.

   Thinking about it for a minute, he answered, "I don't care what we do Papa, just so I can do it with you".

   No agenda, just a relationship.

   Isn't that a way to "walk humbly with your God"?

   "Whatever we do is OK, I just want to do it with You". Do we not think that God would like to hear that from us?

   Oh, that I might never grow too smart, or too smug, or too independent, or too proud, to reply to God in the same way.

   I want to walk humbly WITH my God, not only crossing those dangerous streets, but all the time.

   And Sawyer grew up: