“He has shown 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.”
MICAH 6:8
MICAH 6:8
Foot notes of the NIV
Bible for Micah 7:18-20 say this:
“In an age where “religion” was making very little difference in
people’s lives,
Micah (the prophet) said that God expected his people to be
just, merciful and humble.
God requires the same of Christians today.
In a world that is unjust, we must act justly.
In a world of tough breaks, we must be merciful.
In a world of pride and self-sufficiency, we must walk humbly with God.
Only when we live according to
God’s way
will we begin to affect
our homes, our society and our world.”
These footnotes speak directly to us in the here and now and
that is the amazing part of how God’s Word remains constant and relevant year
after year into decades that form centuries- and throughout all ages!
To peer a little deeper in Micah 6:8 let’s look at the key
words and their definitions:
Just- defined:
Right, reasonable, honorable,
truthful, fair, impartial, & moral!
Mercy -defined:
Compassionate,
forgiving, kind, sympathetic, understanding, generous, & lenient.
Humble- defined:
Respectful, modest,
unassuming, & unpretentious
Re-read all the words from the definitions above! Man, that is a mouthful of delineation! Let’s put this information into a practical
summation so that we can use and apply it in our lives:
God say’s it is good to “act justly”- meaning that as we live our lives we are called to be
reasonable with others, to respond with honor and fairness to those around us;
to be purposely impartial toward others- representing what is moral and right-
to the best of our abilities.
We are called to “love
mercy”! Meaning, we should totally
enjoy extending compassion, sympathy, & understanding toward others. As we do this God expands our own heart with
what we are giving away and we find joy and blessings! Unfortunately, this
world distracts us everyday with busyness and we forget all about Micah 6:8! We must refresh our minds and remember that
with compassion and agreeable kindness we are to interact with others. Our hearts and actions should instinctively
beat & bend with leniency when it is in our power to do so. The gift of forgiveness should be a natural
extension of our everyday responses to those around us; surrendering our own
strong will and spirit in order that others may see & feel God’s gentle,
kind Spirit when they are in our presence!
We are directed to “walk
humbly” in this dire world. Instead of
being bold and boisterous we are to be unassuming. In a world of splash and sass we are to be
unpretentious. In this world where
modesty has long since been left behind we are to be reasonable and simple in
our actions and dress. What a lovely
calling from our kind-hearted God!
The verse given to us from the prophet Micah is so godly
that it fulfills its own directive.
Walking humbly with God is an answer
to many a prayer; justice and mercy logically fall into place when we do the “humble walk” with the Lord. If you’re looking around for answers to your
problems…. perhaps the remedy is to implement inward change by following the written directive found inside Micah
6:8!
Lord, make it so!
Song Recommendation:
Here
By: Kari Jobe
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