Justly, Mercifully, Humbly.

“He has shown you, O man, what is good; But to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” - Micah 6:8

This passage was one of my favorite verses as I was growing up. I wore a bracelet with this Bible scripture on it for at least 4 years of my life as a constant reminder of what God has required of me. So what exactly does God require of us as we pursue this faithful journey towards Heaven?

1.) God requires us to do justly. If you want to get right down to it that means that we are responsible for living a righteous life for Christ. While Jesus is preaching the Beatitudes in Matthew Chapter 5 He makes a comforting proclamation in verse 6. Jesus says “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” So, Christ is literally telling us that we should be striving for righteousness. I love the old saying “there’s never a wrong time to do the right thing.” This statement is true, however when we apply that to our Christian life are we doing what God is calling us to do. Have we shared the Gospel with a nonbeliever, have we spent time in prayer and devotion with God, have we shared genuine fellowship with other believers?

In 1 John 1:9 it states that “If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Let me pose this question to you this morning, evening, night, whenever you read this post. If God is just to forgive us of our sin no matter how far we may stray away, shouldn't we be desiring a closer relationship and walk with Him? After all that’s what He wants from us! One issue I have with most Christ followers today is that people don't take their walk seriously. When you can grasp every step it took for our sins to be washed away it makes you so grateful for the willing sacrifice that Jesus Christ was for us! We should be living a righteous life for Christ because He live a righteous life for us. It’s time to start living a righteous life for Christ, this is the first of His requirements!

2.) The second thing that God requires of us is to love mercy. First, we must understand what mercy is. Mercy, from a Biblical perspective is God not giving us what we deserve, which is an eternity spent in Hell. Rather, God gives us His grace, which is God giving us what we don't deserve, which is heaven! We don't deserve Heaven, but through God’s grace via His son Jesus Christ we are given Heaven if we choose to accept Christ as our Lord and Savior. Because of God’s merciful heart we have the opportunity at salvation.

As Christians we are to have a merciful heart as well. Our hearts should be loving, forgiving, and joyful. When someone wrongs us and they deserve consequence or punishment we should be merciful toward that situation and not give that person what they deserve, don't lash out at them or try to get even with them, show them mercy! A loving heart brings forgiveness, and a forgiving heart brings joy into a someone’s life. So be quick to love and forgive. Thats exactly how God is, and it goes to show how merciful God truly is. We deserve and onslaught of punishment from God, yet He blesses us with an outpouring of love.

3.) The final thing from Micah 6:8 that God requires of us is to walk humbly. Our walk with Christ is no greater than anybody else. We all fall short, we all stumble, and we are all still sinners, so for us to think that we are greater than anyone is rubbish. I try to tell my youth group all the time that just because I’m their youth pastor, that doesn't mean I’m any better than they are. Your walk with Christ has to be a humble one. To quote the great theologian Kendrick Lamar some of us to “Sit down, Be Humble.” Now Kendrick Lamar is a modern day rap artist and by no means theologian, however we can absolutely apply this to our walk with Christ.

Another one of my favorite verses is Proverbs 3:34. I wrote this on my wrist tape before every game when I played high school football. It says this “He surely scorns the scorners but gives grace to the humble.” For me this was always a reminder that I must remain humble in all that I do. We must understand that we are just God’s messengers, we cant save anybody, only He can, but He uses us to do His work if we are willing. We must remain humble in our walk with Christ after all, Satan’s pride got him cast out of Heaven. Stay humble! As Proverbs 16: 18 says “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

So to my fellow Christian servant, I want to encourage you to do more justly, to love more mercifully, and to walk more humbly with our God. Our journey leads us closer to Home every day, how many people will you bring with you on this journey towards the Throne Room of God?