Of other faith

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.

And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and

to love mercy and

to walk humbly with your God.

Micah 6.8

 

I love the above verse in the Goat Herder’s Guide. It is more than just that we are referred to as “Mortals!” Its simplicity is striking. Three qualities are required of us mortals: to act justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with our God. To add a bit of clarity, the God of this passage is the God of the bible. But, bear with me.

        The Feisty One and I recently travelled back to Thailand. We did so somewhat quietly, as we did not want to contend with the family drama that awaited us. While we were there, we met up with the guy that introduced us. He had come into a significant amount of money. An amount of money even significant by our standards. His response was noteworthy.

       He had bought a large house, and had moved his family into the compound. He had also brought two orphans from Myanmar into his home. When we met him for lunch, he had the youngest orphan with him. I am not sure if there was a widow in the picture. While I was sitting in the compound, I thought of this verse in Micah. I also thought of this verse in Isaiah:

Learn to do right; seek justice.

Defend the oppressed.

Take up the cause of the fatherless;

plead the case of the widow.

Isaiah 1.17

       Nikkorn, the gentleman’s name, is a Buddhist. It was the religion that he grew up practicing. I am not sure how devout he is in his Buddhism. We get so caught up in the cerebral aspects of our faith. We forget that while we are called into a new way of looking at the world, this is meant to call us into a new way of being.

       In a discussion of the Beatitude, “Those who are persecuted for righteousness are blessed,” I have suggested that this included those who are not of my faith. That idea usually gets dismissed. I am not so sure.

       There has been something that spoke to my friend’s heart, conscience, or soul. When presented with more money than he had ever wanted, his answer was to become generous. How many people would have done the same? It would not be many of us. I am interested in what spoke to his soul. Could that have been the voice of God? In the book of Jeremiah, he was a prophet not a bullfrog, we are told there would come a time that God would write his law upon our hearts. (Jeremiah 31.33)

       We get so caught up in the form. I do believe that clarity as to Jesus's identity and the gospel is essential. Yet, it is more important to have that clarity as to the central message of our faith. A number of times we are told to foster the traits of love, charity, and kindness. Thus, I ask, can one be a Christian without knowing it? Could my friend arrive at the Pearly Gates, or whatever awaits us, only to be told, “We really like what you’ve done, but you got the name wrong.”

        Jesus, when healing the servant of the Roman Centurion, told him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt 8.10 & 11) Yes, the Centurion may have been a Gentile convert to Judaism, but it is unlikely.

          I write this not to dissuade us from sharing the Gospel. Rather, I share this so that we may be more humble in how we approach those who do not share our faith. We need to know that there are those of other cultures, raised in different religions, that join us in a “hunger and thirst” for righteousness.

 

Anyway, that is my opinion