Act, Love, Walk

Micah 6:8

He has showed you, O man, 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.

We live in a world full of requirements. We are required to stay within the speed limit. We are required to go to work in order to pay the bills. We are required to keep our dog on a leash, etc. etc. But God's requirements are few and simple (albeit not always easy), but He doesn't give them to us without informing us first of what is good.

As this verse indicates, God requires us to act justly. Not just to think justly, but to act. Sometimes we see things that are unjust, and we sit back and think how wrong it is, but God wants us to apply His Word to our lives, acting on our convictions of what He has shown us to be good.

God requires us to love mercy. We serve a God who delights in mercy. He has demonstrated His mercy time and time again in His Word, ultimately, with mercifully sacrificing His precious Son's blood for our sins, sins that deserve great penalty. Instead, Jesus paid the penalty.

Finally, God requires us to walk humbly with Him. Our world preaches pride and putting self first. For many of us, we have to consciously choose first to be humble and then to practice humility. It doesn't always feel natural to practice humility, but God sent us Jesus to show us a perfect example of living humbly.

Lord, today, I confess to You that I have not met Your requirements. I often fail to stand up for what it just, and I do not always show mercy to others as You have led by example through Your Son Jesus Christ. But, I pray that You will continue to teach me to walk humbly alongside You, drawing closer to You and learning Your ways each and every day. Amen.