Friday, July 23, 2021
“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).
These words seem straightforward and simple, right? Then why it is often difficult for people, professing born-again Christian believers, to live these words? The prophet, Micah, expressed these words during his time, which could very well be our own. People were following after the gods of his day—consumed with their own lusts and living. Since God has already shown us, why is it such a struggle? He’s already shown us what is good, that is, what is pleasing to Him. All we have to do is act! Hmmmm…. What do you think?
What does God say He requires, desires, wants from us?
- Act justly: In our case, practice the fruit of the Spirit to the core—love, joy, peace, longsuffering (patience), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness (meekness), self-control. This shouldn’t be too hard, right? We’re not talking about perfection here. We start with basic human decency and then build on that. I should care about how I treat you, and this care should be reciprocated. If everyone began with love as the basic principle for living, the other fruit would fall in line. Wars would cease. Hatred would stop. Everyone would have value and worth. Idealistic? Some might say so, but this is what God’s Word says! Lord, God, help us to act (live) in love.
- Love mercy: If you’ve ever needed mercy, it’s easy to understand how important it is . . . or it should be. Can you remember a time when you NEEDED God’s mercy? When you received it, do you remember how GRATEFUL you were?! Whew! And didn’t it make you want to extend mercy when someone needed it from you? We should LOVE to be merciful! What a great opportunity! God is so very merciful, and He wants us to be like Him! Lord, God, help us to act (give) mercy.
- Walk humbly with Him: To be honest, as we walk with God, none of us should feel entitled in any way to have “a big head”! Why should we? All that we have comes from the Lord! All that we accomplish comes through how He has gifted us! Arrogance, pride, narcissism, and any other contrary behavioral attachment should have no room to take up residency in our heart when we walk with the Lord. What these should see is a NO VACANCY sign on the door of our hearts! The very fact that God has saved us and set us free is a great big HALLELUJAH moment! Knowing that we have been given grace that we don’t deserve (and could never earn) AND that we have not been given what we deserve according to our wrongs is a huge blessing!
So, the next time we consider the question, “What Does God Want?” . . . let’s remember to start with these three things: do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with the Lord! What a journey! So glad we can all share it together!
Until next time, my friend,
Selah . . .