Micah 4:1-5 (NRSV)
Read Micah 4:1-5 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 4In days to come the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised up above the hills. Peoples shall stream to it, Verse 2and many nations shall come and say: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Verse 3He shall judge between many peoples, and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more; Verse 4but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees, and no one shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken. Verse 5For all the peoples walk, each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.
Devotion
Two thousand years ago, God’s people longed for God to send them a savior. They imagined a great military hero who would come in power and put things right. But the future that God has created for humankind is not one ruled by might. God pulls us towards God’s future, a future in which weapons of war become tools for feeding the world. God didn’t send a conquering savior, but instead entered into human history in Jesus Christ. No longer is that peace simply far off in the future; it dwells among us.
Prayer
Prince of peace, the world and my life are full of conflict and in need of your peace. When the world cries out “Fear!” help me to trust in the peace that God has in store for me and for the world, and to begin to live that peace even now. Amen.