Micah 6:8 | December 22
"Mankind, he has told each of you what is good and what it is the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8
In a world that is rapidly becoming more divisive and hateful, with more of this to come as the 2024 Presidential race heats up, Christians must remember their calling as ambassadors of Christ’s gospel of peace in a contentious and hostile culture. Jesus is truly the only hope for peace in this world filled with discord.
If Christians will live in peace with others, godly wisdom is needed. This wisdom is found in the words of the prophet Micah. Through Micah, God has provided us with His provision for living at peace in our communities. God’s people must “act justly, love faithfulness, and walk humbly with our God.”
Acting justly and walking humbly are not simply endearing terms; they are acts of love and service that when shown to another, help to further peace in the community. And they are only possible when rooted in a commitment of personal faithfulness, which is what the call to love mercy entails.
Justice, mercy, and humility are central to God’s character and all of these character traits are on display in the life of Jesus. Those who are called to follow Christ emulate Him because He has filled us with His life. We aren’t called to try to act justly, somehow find a way to show mercy, or strive to be more humble. We are to live every moment out of our relationship with Christ so that His life in us becomes more and more evident in our attitudes and actions towards others around us, wherever we may be.
To act justly is to live with a proper sense of right and wrong. It carries with it this idea of not just doing what is popular, but going against the grain to do what God says is right and best. To love faithfulness or mercy is to give people what they do not always deserve. We are not simply to show mercy to others but to passionately “love mercy.” To walk humbly with our God is to recognize our struggles and our total dependence on God rather than our own abilities.
When you struggle to align your beliefs with your practices, when your words are lost in the actions you display, when justice, mercy, and humility are nowhere to be seen in your life, remember that the God who called you into communion with Himself will strengthen and equip you for every good work. Just as Jesus respected the disrespected, loved the unlovable, and esteemed the humble and lowly, by the Spirit’s power you can be an instrument of peace in your community, whether at work, home, in church, or wherever others are gathered.
So ask yourself, Am I acting justly? Do I love mercy? Am I walking humbly? These are heart questions that will help you know if God’s peace is truly seen in your life. Let Micah 6:8 spur you to action.