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"What
doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with thy God." Micah 6:8b
It is the heart prayer and desire of the Christian to please God.
The central theme of Christian living is to learn to know God better and to
do only those things which please Him. There is a process of growing
in grace and knowledge, in which the Lord continually reveals
opportunities to yield to Him and to conform more unto His image.
It is important for us as habit-prone humans to maintain clarity on
the reasons and motivations behind our choices as we live for
Christ. Satan will try to confuse our minds and alter our course
with the message of modern Christianity. Holy and sacrificial living
are under attack and we are at risk of being affected and
desensitized by daily contact with the world. When this happens,
the Word of God is a strong defense. This verse takes us back to the
basics of what God requires and it covers every facet of life.
What doth the Lord require of thee?
To do justly: This addresses my behavior toward my fellow man. My
motives must be benevolent, my actions kind and impartial, my
thoughts pure.
To love mercy: This moves on to my reciprocal relationship with my
fellow man. My response to others when they have wronged me whether
in perception or reality is not to be vindictive. My attitude is to
be forgiving, my thoughts generous, my actions gentle,
and my goal reconciliation. This is simply an extension of the mercy
I have received at the hand of God.
To walk humbly with thy God: I acknowledge God's supreme authority,
I bow to His will in my life, I conform to His image, I obey His
command, I worship at
his feet, and I revel in his Love for me.
Living for God is not a tedious existence in which one fears the
disapproval of God. If you view Christianity as a list of rules to
observe, then you have lost your vision. This happens when we lose
sight of the motivation for our choices.
It is good
for us to return to the simplicity of the Word and to see how it
reaches every part of our life. What doth the Lord require of thee,
but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with Thy
God.
--Sis.
René Smith |
