It is doubtful the poor peasants of Judah ever had a stronger champion than fellow countryman Micah, the powerful preacher. Though neither as intellectually gifted as his contemporary Isaiah nor as popular as his peer to the north Hosea, Micah nevertheless defended the downtrodden with vigilant zeal. He cared for his people and warned them of certain punishment if they refused to repent.
As Christmas approaches, remember this, it is a perfect season of the year to remind us all: God keeps His promises. Never forget it.
In Micah 6:8, the bold prophet answered the question many people wonder about today: What does the Lord expect of us? Micah's answer is comprehensive: to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God. The first of these three expectations means to do what is right, regardless of the consequences. This kind of courageous obedience is illustrated for us in the lives of the first-century apostles.
Micah 6:8 reveals the second character quality of a life well lived: kindness—a quality often expressed in mercy or forgiveness. Few things catch the attention or remain in the memory more than acts of unmerited kindness, but it sometimes seems that everything around us works to block those acts. Of all the biblical examples of amazing acts of kindness, Joseph's treatment of his brothers may shine the brightest.
A silent battle rages in every one of us: the conflict between the sin of pride and the virtue of humility—the desire for significance versus the goal to be Christ-like. We should not be surprised that when God led the prophet Micah to tell us what He expects of us, He included “Walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). Contrary to popular opinion, humility—not self-promotion—marks the path of a life well lived.
Life is complex. Our world is more complicated than it was even 20 or 30 years ago. Even though many of the values we grew up with now seem passé, the basics never change—they’re summarized in Micah 6:8, to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
You can’t play games with sin. Left unchecked it can ruin your whole life. It moves in and eats away at our moral fabric. And the longer it stays... the harder it is to get rid of it.
The pressures of life can seem overwhelming. Sixty-hour workweeks. Razor-thin balances in the chequebook every month. Children who demand unending boundless bursts of energy. You’ve been there? Me too.
A reporter once asked a couple how they had managed to stay married 65 years. The woman replied, “We were born in a time when if something was broken, we would fix it, not throw it away.”
We are to walk humbly with God on the path of justice and compassion. We are not allowed to privatize our faith and care only for our backyard. A social conscience extends compassion and justice to all.
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