What does the Lord require?

Image by John Forster from Pixabay

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

To act justly....

Justice is defined the administering of deserved punishment or reward.  Justly is defined as 'deservedly.'  

To love mercy...

Mercy is the discretionary power to pardon someone or to mitigate punishment - essentially, not giving someone what they deserve.

How on earth can God require us to behave in two seemingly opposing ways?!   

The key is the motivation.  Justice and mercy are not at odds when the motivation is love.  
Sometimes God does not give us what we deserve...

    But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ~ Romans 5:8

Sometimes He allows us to experience the consequences...

Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices. ~ Proverbs 1:31 (ESV)


In each case, God is motivated by love and what is best for us.  That is why the only way that we can both 'walk justly' and 'love mercy' is through the power of the Holy Spirit.

To walk humbly with your God...

These requirements aren't meant to be lived out on our own. In humility, we must acknowledge that on our own, we do not have the wisdom or power to walk justly and love mercy in a way that is truly an outpouring of love fueled by the inpouring of God's love and empowered by the wisdom of the Holy Spirit.  

Learning together to be fueled by the power of walking humbly with Him...