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“Oh.” (Micah 6:8)
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]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,[a]and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8[/perfectpullquote]In our high school small group the other day we were discussing the traits of love in 1 Corinthians 13. We ended up spending the majority of our time talking about the trait that, “Love does not insist on its own way”. To try and help our teens understand why God allows us to choose instead of just demanding we follow his ways. I asked one of our young ladies this question. “Let’s imagine that in 5 years your graduating college and you’re about to get married”.
When I said this you could at this point she was upbeat. Then I said, “Now let’s say you find out that the only reason your fiancé is marrying you is because he has been paid to.” Her response was perfect. Her joyful expectation turned to disappointment and she let out a dejected “Oh.”
This is an extreme example, but it points to a truth we all understand – choosing to do something out of love means more than obediently doing something out of duty. Choosing out of love produces a relationship that has depth and realness to it. Choosing an action out of obligation produces a relationship that is lacking depth, and authenticity. It’s not real. It’s a mirage.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary says this about our passage for today
“God did not want them to be related to Him in only a ritualistic way.
God wanted them to be related inwardly—to obey Him because they desired to, not because it was a burden on them”
Earlier in this passage Micah says “With what shall I come before the Lord,” and then proceeds to provide a list of “obligations” to illustrate his point that none of these things will please God. God wants us to have a relationship with him not out of duty, but out of love, and that relationship is described in Micah 6:8.
God wants a relationship that is centered on three things. To do justly, which simply means to be fair in your dealings with others. To love mercy, the Hebrew word used here implies to be faithful in showing kindness to others. This verse declares that we are to love doing that not just do it out of obligation, but to love showing kindness to others. Finally God tells us that we should “walk humbly with Him”. In essence to know our place, to not think of ourselves as better than we are. As our church has covered so many times over the past year, to not think as though the world revolves around us but as Proverbs 16:9 says. to take our plans to God and watch him establish our steps h directs to where we should go.
These three things are not something we can do out of ritual. You cannot have surface level love. We cannot Do Justice, Love Mercy, and Walk Humbly with our God out of obligation. It’s a choice, and in choosing to live out these three things we will find that our relationship with God has a realness and depth to it that will not only transform us but those around us.
– Adam Deering
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