HUMBLY


Have you ever been in a relationship where you felt like whatever you did would never be enough? I hear spouses complain about this, both children and parents complain about it, employees and employers complain about it — where they finally throw up their hands in frustration and say, "What do you want from me? I cannot meet your impossible demands!"

Many people think this applies to God — that he has given us a list of expectations that is impossible to meet. This is the question that is asked in Micah 6:6-8. “What can we bring to the LORD to make up for what we've done? Should we bow before God with offerings of yearling calves? Should we offer him thousands of rams and tens of thousands of rivers of olive oil? Would that please the LORD? Should we sacrifice our firstborn children to pay for the sins of our souls? Would that make him glad? No, O people, the LORD has already told you what is good, and this is what he requires: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

We oftentimes try to make the Christian life far too complicated. Do you know what God wants from his people?
He wants us to do right—to do justice. We have, deep within, an ingrained sense of what is fair and what is good and what is right. And he wants us to do it, to the best of our ability. He wants us to love mercy. That means he wants to give mercy to others when they need it. And he wants us to enjoy mercy—to be happy when people are forgiven. That’s because God is all about mercy. And he wants us to walk humbly with him.

God included the word 'humbly' in this requirement because we need to remember that when it comes to life in God, we have nothing to brag about. We're all sinners, saved by grace. "Not of works, lest anyone should boast." (Ephesians 2:9)

The only way we come to God is in humility, asking for his mercy, asking for the strength to do what is right. It is in this humble submission to the Lordship of Christ that we experience God's favor in our lives. Make sure that every day of your life includes humble submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. He wants you to walk with him, as you would walk with a friend.

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