He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
The first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism states, "What is the chief end of man?" This small verse from the prophet Micah answers that question quite simply. Do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly. Simple right? The only problem with this is that it is impossible to do as Adam's sons. We know that we cannot do justly, our hearts are bent on sinning. We also know that our hearts love everything but mercy, especially towards the ones we should love above all. And humility is never near the heart of a man. The field of the heart grows nothing but egocentricity like thicket overgrowing an old forest.
This behavior before God has been put to men in different ways, but always with the same view in mind - blameless. When Abram was first given his promise, the Lord prefaced the covenantal relationship with the command to walk before Him and be blameless (Gen 17:1-2). Doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly is all part of that concept of blamelessness.
Of course we know that only Jesus could fulfill this type of obedience and behavior. The man Jesus was perfectly just, doing all the will of His Father. He was the soul of compassion and mercy towards those He was sent to seek and to save. And His meekness and humility was unmatched because His heart was perfect towards God.
So if Jesus is the only man who can fulfill this command, what are we to do as men? We are to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly, knowing that it is not we who do it, but Christ in us. Because He saves us fully, not only do we know the righteousness of Christ, by which we are justified, but His power to save also sanctifies us, and enables us, as the catechism puts it, to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness. The perfect salvation through Christ in God enables the man of God to do what the Lord requires.
Is any one of these more important than the other? Men can fall into the trap of making it more important to do justly than to love mercy. This was the problem of the Pharisees and Jesus chastised them for it. They would go out of their way to appear just, but neglected the mercy they should have shown to their fellow man and particularly, to the widows and the orphans, and the strangers within their gates. But men should also not reverse these precepts so that they believe themselves to be merciful, but at the same time forgetting the law of God. These two traps are called legalism and antinomianism. One puts the law above grace and mercy, and the other elevates grace and mercy and neglects the law. A man must fall into neither of these traps, but must remain on the straight path to enter into the straight and narrow gate.
There is also a great mystery in the phrase, "to love kindness," or one could also use mercy, or lovingkindness, or God's covenant love. Because this is the same Hebrew word for God's covenant love, we might say that it is not enough to desire to be kind to those who show us kindness. Jesus told us that if we love only those who love us we are really no better than sinners and tax collectors. But this goes deeper. To love or desire God's covenant love means that we love others in the same way He has loved us. And how has He loved us? He loved us even when we were dead in our trespasses and sins, and sent His Son to redeem us from the pit and to make us alive so that we can live forever. How much lovingkindness have we been shown? Paul says that we were once alienated from the commonwealth of Israel (Eph 2:12), meaning, that we were outside God's covenant. But He has brought us in and given us sonship through adoption (Eph 1:5), so that we may be part of His family, and have Jesus as our brother (Heb 2:11). Therefore, we should be all the more willing to share that love with everyone. Although we cannot bring anyone into covenant with God, or make them part of God's family, we can allow them into our lives and share with them the bread of life so that they may taste and see that the Lord is good. Not all will come, but it is not in our power to save. We can only point the way to Christ.
This is the great design of the Christian life. Men are to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly. By doing this we not only show our love and gratitude to Christ who saves us, but we also shine His light before men so that they may turn to Him for their salvation.
Assignment:
1. Memorize this short verse over the week.
2. Journal all the ways you can think of how God has been merciful to you.
3. Read Romans 3:21-31. Jot down some ideas about how that passage relates Micah 6:8. Hint: look for words like just, justified, justifier, redemption, and boasting.
