And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah 6:8

At this point in history, the Israelites had become so legalistic, they had no idea what God actually wanted from them. For generations, they had put so many man-made laws in place to insure that they didn’t break God’s laws, that they forgot the purpose for them. While that may seem silly, we are actually a lot like the Israelites. We make our own rules for our lives, we compare our lives and our behaviors with others, and we feel like we’re “good Christians” when we go to church. But rules can never replace relationship, the only comparisons we should ever make are to our “before Jesus” selves and to Jesus Himself, and going to church doesn’t mean we are walking with Jesus. 

There are 613 commandments of the law, which Micah summed up with these three. “Act justly” simply means to do what is right. Not so others will be impressed with your behavior or wowed by your great faith, but because God is holy and we are to be holy, too. (1 Peter 1:16) “Love mercy” means offering grace when others fail, just as you expect them to do for you. There is more to generosity than material things. When you treat people the way Jesus treats people, they will do the same to you. (Luke 6:38) “Walk humbly” means to walk closely with Jesus and depend on Him for everything, not on your own abilities. We get it very wrong when we fight for independence, when we stubbornly pursue our own desires and ignore His leading. It takes great humility to obey Jesus’ greatest commandment. (Matthew 22:37-39)

You are the only “Jesus” many in your life will ever know, and Micah 6:8 can be summed up with one word: LOVE! God loved you so much, that He gave Jesus to die for you! Your only appropriate response is to do what is right, to offer grace when others fail, and to stay close to LOVE Himself! (1 John 4:8) It’s that simple! People will want to know Jesus when you show them who He really is, and He is LOVE! You are loved!