What the Lord requires of you

Micah 6:8 (NIV)
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.
  
The book of Micah is part of the Old Testament 12 minor prophet books.  This verse probably is its most famous verse along with Micah 5:2 that prophesied Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem.  While most of Micah is aimed at the nations of Judah and Samaria and the city of Jerusalem and its impending destruction if the people would not repent of their sins, chapter 6 is aimed at individuals.  

Micah 6:8 clearly states three requirements that the Lord has of His people—act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly.  These three requirements fit with other passages of Scripture that teach about God’s people to reverence Him, love him, and serve Him by serving others.

Act Justly
Justice means to be fair, to give your best to God and to others.  Adam Clarke, a British Methodist theologian in the early 1800s, wrote that to act justly means to give God His due (love God with all your heart, body, soul, and mind), to give your neighbor his due (love your neighbor as yourself), and give yourself what you are due (avoid sins of the flesh and be filled with the fruit of the Holy Spirit—Galatians 5:19-23).

Love Mercy
The Hebrew word for mercy (“checed”) means “goodness, kindness, faithfulness”, three of the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22).  You are to love to be good and kind and faithful (sincere) to others.  As God shows mercy to you by forgiving you of your sins, you are to show mercy to others and forgive them as well.  

Walk Humbly
To walk humbly is to act as a humble person.  To be humble is to follow the example of Christ that is best described in Philippians 2:3-4--“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too”.

All these requirements of God are not easy to practice, are they?  Yet, all Christians must try their best, through prayer and study and asking the Holy Spirit to lead them everyday to practice these three noble acts.  Ask God to reveal to you where you need to be more just, more merciful, and more humble. Is there anyone in your life who you see practice these truths from whom you can emulate?  Is there anyone in your life to whom you can perform an act of kindness without them knowing?  Is there any source of pride in your life that you know you need to turn over to the Lord?  

God requires people like you who will be for what is right—to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly.  For some of you may this become your life verse.