Skip to main content

Requirements of the Lord (Micah 6:8)


Scripture of the Day: Micah 6:8

O people, 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.

Phrased like that, life is simple. God requires of us 3 basic things, broken down as such:
  •     To do what is right
  •        To love mercy
  •        To walk humbly with him.

Reader, please bear with me as I break these down...this post is a long one and breaks from my usual format! :) 

One. To do what is right.

This sounds simple enough; most people are aware of what is right and what is wrong. However, this “right” doesn’t always mean to do what is “right” according to society. As a favorite song lyric[1] brings up the point that the answers and the truth can take different sides. The answers to life questions, to what is “right,” can only be found through God. The truth we find through our peers, our media, and our own resources may not align with His Truth. Note that God’s Truth (capital “t”), supersedes the answers we may find through other various avenues.
   
Two. To love mercy.

Mercy, as defined by Merriam-Webster is:
1: compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one’s power; also: lenient or compassionate treatment
2: a blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion
3: compassionate treatment of those in distress

In order to love mercy, we must understand and love it two-fold. We must love the concept of mercy and be sure that we show compassion not only to those who offend us, but also to those who are in distress. We must also love mercy because God has shown the greatest compassion (sending his son to die on the cross for us), to those who not only have offended him time after time by disobeying his laws, but also to those who are under His power.

The words compassion and forbearance do not always go together (my student loans are in forbearance not because the Federal government is showing me compassion, but because on paper they could not deny the request), but in this case, they work together as synonyms. Jesus is the perfect demonstration of God’s mercy because not only was his death God showing his greatest compassion to mankind, it was also forbearance (defined as a refraining from the enforcement of something (as a debt, right, or obligation) that is due). Because Jesus died to take the punishment for our sin, God does not enforce the debt we owe for our own sin by taking our lives: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

Three. To walk humbly with him.

Psalm 23 is to me the epitome of walking with the Lord. Verses 1-3 read, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me besides quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”

When walking with God, we must remember that he is indeed, our Lord. He is not our equal, he is our guide, our shepherd. Walking with our Lord leads us to peace, and righteousness. God wants us to talk with him because he loves us. In fact, as John’s first letter states: “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Walking with God on a daily basis is one way we can return the love He so freely gave.

When Jesus died, the veil separating the average human from having a personal relationship with God was torn. (Matthew 27:51). Think then, how blessed we are to have the opportunity for our close daily walk! It is through this relationship that the Lord truly abides in us.

Closing:

Through Moses, God tells us to write his commandments “on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates,” (Deuteronomy 6:9). Micah’s daily guide seems to be simple enough that this is possible. It is also a mantra that can go round and round in your head – hopefully sticking enough that we do all three things daily. Here’s the mantra, I pray you never forget it!

One. Do what is right. Two. Love mercy. Three. Walk humbly with your God.

[1] Needtobreathe “Through Smoke”

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I love you Lord (Psalm 100:2)

Scripture of the Day: Psalm 100:2  Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Starting last fall, my husband began singing the song "I Love you Lord," to our kiddo before he went to bed, as a lullaby of sorts. The lyrics are simple: I love you Lord, and I lift my voice to worship you, oh my soul rejoice! Take joy, my King, in what you hear, may it be a sweet, sweet, sound in your ear. It has since become a very popular song in our house! We sing it before nap time, bed time, and I hum it when sometimes when our little guy is upset or over tired. I love singing it slow and asking him to sing with me – at this point he knows most of the words and there is really nothing sweeter than hearing that little voice sing “I yuv you yord,”  (no “r’s” yet you see)! The song has also worked it's way into my personal worship of the Lord. The words are meant for Him to hear and I think he loves to hear them sung! I find that singing that j...
2 comments
Read more

What is Your Lie?

By now, you should know I like songs. I like Christian songs because their words don't put any "yuck" in my head and I don't have to worry about what little ears are taking in when they are on! Some touch me deep and here are the lyrics to part of a new favorite: Reckless Love by Cory Asbury There's no shadow you won't light up, Mountain you won't climb up Coming after me... There's no wall you won't kick down, Lie you won't tear down, Coming after me... Friends. Focus on that last point: There's no lie God won't tear down. What is your lie? What lie, or even lies, do you believe about yourself? What lies run over and over in your head until they don't feel like lies anymore? What hurts have you told yourself you deserve? What unkindness have you accepted as your due? What actions have you justified for others? What fault have you accepted that really isn't yours? What forgiveness have you felt unworthy of? I'm...
1 comment
Read more

From the mouth's of babes

I'm writing this more for prosperity's sake and because I need to try and wrap my head around a conversation I just had with my seven year old. Mandisa's song "Bleed the Same" was playing in the car...my kiddo asks me what she is actually saying because he hears "We all be the same." I explained how it meant that regardless of skin color, or lots of other things really, we all bleed the same. On the inside, we are all the same. And then the zinger. He says, "We all look the same inside. Except our hearts." "Oh really?" Says I. "Yes," says he "because of sin. I'm talking on a spiritual level." AAAHHHHH!!! Our hearts all look different because of sin in the my mind of my baby. And I bet you that in the eyes of God, who can see the heart in a different light and who judges it's motivations, our hearts all DO look different. When I think of a heart full of sin, I think of black and decay instead o...
1 comment
Read more