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 (prudently) with your God.
(Micah
6:8 NIV).
What
does it mean to “act justly” and “love mercy” and “walk
humbly”? Are you obeying? What requirements have you added to verse
8 in your own view of “what is good” for your life? Are these
really from God? (Serendipity Bible 10th Anniversary Edition,
page 1293).
I
view this verse as a disarmingly simple yet direct challenge for us
to focus on essentials. In the great turmoil that life can become, it
is extremely useful to have a clear enunciation of what our
fundamental direction and purpose should be and to what attention
must be steadily paid. We are told to seek and live for justice,
mercy, humility and prudence before God.
It
behooves us to sketch out what these terms mean – what it means to
act justly and love mercy and walk humbly with God. Justice and mercy
form a unitary concept of disciplined love. Justice arises from the
critical eyes of discernment while mercy forms the outstretched hand
of forgiveness and reconciliation. We have here both an unsentimental
view of human behavior in tandem with a generous capacity to forgive
and take into consideration extenuating circumstances. In showing
justice and mercy we are exercising prudence on the one hand and
humility on the other. The Godhead is important in this cameo for
proper perspective. All men are subordinately equal before the
Creator. No man may boast before the perfection of the Godhead which
renders to all mankind a no-nonsense objectivity coincident with
divine forgiveness and mercy. In human affairs these qualities are to
generously roll down broadly like waters, not to be stingily
metered out with an eye dropper.
Can
you guess which American president included Micah 6:8 in his
inaugural? If Jimmy Carter came to mind you are correct.
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