Three Things the Lord Requires

One need not travel to Haifa, Israel to discover what three things the Lord requires, but there in the restroom of the youth hostel, I found them spelled out on a colorful poster.

“He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you

• but to do justly,
• to love mercy,
• and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8 NKJV)

On this occasion, my thirty-ninth birthday, the poster gripped my heart. We’d soon be joining new friends to check out the beautiful historical sites in and around Israel’s harbor city. I looked forward to that all-you-can-eat fish dinner. Now, however, facing the poster in that secluded, narrow room, the words to the familiar Scripture chorus challenged me. How did I fare in meeting those requirements?

To Do Justly

Did I focus my every action on doing the right thing, or did I let anything influence me away from what I thought God would want me to do? Things such as peer-pressure, getting ahead in my career at all costs, or just letting a wrong go unrighted for any number of reasons dropped into my mind.

I’d been a Christian for nineteen years at this point. Moving away from certain circles of acquaintances made it easier to make the right choices. I’d already dealt with my failings in the getting ahead in my career department. My parents had raised us to work hard and never cheat the employer, so I thought I fared well now in the first of the three requirements.

Then, I asked God to show me if I missed something. Sadly, a couple of opportunities I’d had to return incorrectly calculated change popped into my thoughts. Hmm? I figured it didn’t matter; I’d already left the store, and the amount was minimal.

I assured God it’d not happen again. If it mattered to Him, I’d be sure it mattered to me.

To Love Mercy

Having just spent several weeks on a fact-finding mission all over Israel, I knew I ranked a miserable 50% on this one. I loved seeing God show mercy to the innocent and downtrodden. I delighted in the wonderful stories of God’s deliverance of the Jewish people in the wars fought in this Promised Land.

However, when the mercy extended to folks I didn’t think deserved it, I found myself less-than-happy with God for extending His mercy to those who repented. Sometimes, my own carnal nature much preferred God’s vengeance to His mercy.

I asked God to change me on the issue of mercy. Only God knew what lurked in the heart of a man or woman. I wanted to be able to rejoice in God’s mercy shown to everyone who repents, not just in finding the joy of His forgiveness for my own failings.

To walk humbly with your God

This last requirement reminded me that even when I achieved the maturity to do justly every day and in every circumstance; when I found I could love mercy, regardless of my own critical opinion; then, the Lord expected me to do so humbly. If I wanted to walk humbly with my God, I needed to see a change in my heart, not just in my behavior.

The good news is that God wants to walk with us. The Creator of the universe, the Almighty God, the Alpha and Omega wants to walk with us. God will teach you and me what we need to know to fulfill the requirements; we need only be willing to be taught.

Over the next twenty-seven years, the Lord continued to teach and correct me. I haven’t arrived yet, but I’m finding real blessings in the lessons.

For example, the folding table and chairs had been amongst a load of sale items we’d purchased at K-mart. Once home, however, we discovered the clerk had neglected to charge us for them. Back across town we drove, completely surprising the clerk who said she couldn’t believe we’d returned to pay for the items. “I’ve never seen that in all my years here; I can tell you that!”

Then at the market in Africa, the dear Muslim lady had miscounted, and an extra mosquito net had been placed in the pile we’d purchased for our African children. We returned the following day to pay for the extra net. The shocked woman said, “Are you Catholic or Protestant; you must be Christians. No Muslim would have returned to pay for that net.”

As the years pass, I find it easier to love mercy, regardless of the circumstance. I can’t say I’ve emerged victorious in every situation, but I’m learning more about how to release God to deal with the issues of other people Himself. No longer do I let a seed of resentment burrow into my own heart.

Injustice still bothers me, of course, but I’m much more ready to rejoice when the wrong-doer surrenders to God, experiencing the great new life that God’s forgiveness brings.

As to the third requirement? I’m not likely to be taken up to heaven as Enoch had when he walked in the garden with God, but I’m, definitely, a lot closer to accomplishing this requirement than I was when my eyes and heart caught the lovely poster on the bathroom door in Haifa.

God is perseverant, demonstrating his kindness and patience as we learn. God won’t give up on us, and that’s a mighty comforting fact. We’ll make it one day, as long as our hearts are set on doing things God’s way; to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God.

How are you doing with the three things the Lord requires? Take a moment to ask God. Then, consider sharing your story; we’d all be encouraged by your journey.