How a Christian song turned me into a humanist...

Well, sort of.

I was randomly singing my favorite song yesterday, which is "Micah 6:8" by Charlie Hall. For reasons I don't fully understand, the lyrics that I have always loved and admired suddenly struck me as not just a powerful call to living right, but as a musical embodiment of a powerful truth, the implication of which came rushing into my brain all at once. Here is the first verse and chorus:

You could feed the whole world with the crumbs of old bread
Spread the good news through dreams and stones
With a breath of the wind You could raise up the dead
But You ask us to go

chorus
Help us love mercy, help us do justly,
Help us walk humbly with You God

I had previously resonated most with the call to action and simplicity of the message. But it suddenly struck me - the song is right. God could have done those things, but instead chose to give us the responsibility. God has shifted the focus of activity from himself (best seen in the 'Creation' account) to humanity. We are not only the focus of activity, but the source of the activity.

That's not to say that I believe God isn't actively involved; I believe that he is. But the ring of 'truth' in the song is impossible to ignore. We, as humans, are called to help our fellow Man become what God has modeled for us in Christ.

While some may bristle at this theological humanism, a few others (often spurred by Jared) and I have been exploring theological humanism for a while now. It doesn't make me abandon God (in a personal, relational way), or even distance God (in a deistic sort of way). In fact, it makes me feel more alive and connected to God to realize the honor and power he has given humanity... and "with great power comes great responsibility."

True, there are huge implications about this thought that has been so succinctly embodied in this Charlie Hall song and that pierces my soul; but I don't shy away from them. I don't feel that I'm abandoning God, only perceptions of God that are not really justified, by the Bible or otherwise. For me, pondering this doesn't make God less real, but actually makes him more real.

I wonder if I will ever start living what I am being convicted of. I wonder if I will ever fully comprehend the implications of the 'truths' embodied in thoughts like this. I wonder what is realistic for me to achieve in my life.

I simply pray to God, daily now, "Help us love mercy, help us do justly, help us walk humbly with you God."