One of my favorite scriptures is Micah 6:8. It says, “This is what the Lord requires, to live justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” The context prior to this scripture is when the Israelites had turned from God, again, and were asking Micah ‘What can we do now to please Him?’. God was speaking through Micah saying ‘Have I not brought you out of so much or given to you greatly?’.
Then the Israelites ask ‘What can we do to make it up to you? Can we bring you offerings of 1yr old calves, 1,000 rams, 10,000 rivers of oil, sacrifice our FIRSTBORN?! No—none of this will please me! This is what the Lord requires: to live justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Have you ever thought “If there was only one scripture for the world to live by– how different would it be?” For me this is one of those. Each one of us has different reasons a particular scripture stands out to us.
For me, the simple yet challenging message this scripture speaks loudly. It’s easy to blow past an obvious message thinking, of course this is how we should live, yet it is not always so obvious in how people live their lives. Words like, living justly, loving mercy and walking humbly are easy to say, but a bit more difficult to live out.
To me, to live justly means… God showed us a way to an abundant life. A way that puts other peoples needs ahead of our own. It is doing the right thing even when our pride will be the sacrifice. It is making the right choice even when others won’t, at the risk of losing everything. It’s to be honest and have pure motives to see others succeed.
To love mercy…With all the mercy that God extends to us day after day and continually gives us second chances every morning—why is it so hard for us to extend that same mercy to someone who has wrongfully accused us or betrayed us? Loving mercy gets us past ourselves and allows us to see what God sees in others.
To walk humbly with your God…no matter how great the gifting or the favor on your life -always remember it is not about YOU. It’s ALWAYS about using the gifts & the favor to advance the kingdom of God. We humbly recognize, without God we have nothing.
As I’ve meditated on these simple truths and allowed them to settle in my heart, I’m thankful for God’s mercy that is shown on my life daily. If this was the only scripture I had to live by, I would be challenged to the core.
Leading people to discover and fufill their purpose in Christ.