Three Commands

I heard something really interesting on the radio today as I headed to work. The DJ was talking about how we as humans are always wondering what God wants us to do, but God tells us very plainly what He requires out of us. He used the verse in Micah 6:8 when God commands us "...to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God". It turns out that it really is not that hard to follow God.

For some reason, I was super impressed with that scripture. I have heard it a million seven times but this time it really struck home with me. Maybe it impressed me because if there was one thing that I really struggle with, it would be this whole "What does God really want me to do? Am I doing things right?" etc. Honestly, it is really exhausting to live in constant wonderment. So as I was driving down the road, I began to dissect the verse. As I thought on the verse, my pondering turned into a prayer. Prayer that I will grow in these areas.

I think sometimes it is super easy to get caught up in doing everything right that we forget to do them well. I am as guilty as anyone for doing this. As a perfectionist, this is a huge speed bump in the road of life for me. I catch myself getting so caught up in trying to be perfect that I forget that God is not asking me to be perfect. He is asking me to be human. A good human. A human filled with Him. So, being a good human filled with Christ is enough "perfection" to God. However, I imagine that it is not that we are perfect in His eyes, but that we are doing well. This is what makes Him happy.

So, if God requires us "to do justly" that means he requires us to live a life that is pure and holy. The Oxford Dictionary definition explains the word justly as "according to what is morally right or fair". This implies that "justly" does not just mean fair, but also pure--in heart and mind. So God requires us to live a moral, fair life. That is not rocket-science.

If we read the second part of the verse it says "to love mercy". What is more beautiful than a merciful Christian, really? Jesus gave us a beautiful and perfect example of what mercy is when He walked on this earth. When he was dying a terrible agonizing death for wrongs He never even did, right before He died, He asked God to forgive the accusers and persecutors. If that is not the most perfect picture of mercy, I do not know what is. I think it is logical that Christ would command us to be merciful. He did it, we should follow His footsteps.

The final part of the scripture reads "walk humbly with thy God". Perhaps this is one of the hardest commandments. To "walk humbly" means to walk away from desires that are not like Christ. It means to realize that we are not in charge and that God is, that there is no room for arrogance or pride, that no one or nothing in this world is entitled to us, and that we are not entitled to get anything--everything we have is a gift. If we look at our perfect example, Christ, we notice that this command was executed perfectly in His life on earth. He never expected people to accept Him. He knew that He was not entitled to anything on this earth, not even a pillow to lay his head or some quiet time to get some rest.

I just found this scripture to be so beautiful. It is so simple, so precise, yet so incredibly deep and rich. Each word has a deep meaning and ultimately, is the map to a better path.

I guess serving God is not a huge list of "do's" and "don'ts". It's a precise list of values that will help us make it to Heaven, and to me, that is amazing.