Micah 6:8
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God
Micah 6 is an imaginary conversation between the Lord and Israel. God gives the case against the disobedient people of Israel, and Israel’s response is a series of questions. The response in verse 8 to those questions is clear—that they should act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. Another way to understand this verse would be to say that Israel should have already known the answer to their questions. Those Israelites sure sound like us sometimes…
Micah 6:8 may be one of the most quoted and beloved verses in the Old Testament. It so clearly summarizes what God wants from His people. This is what God requires of believers, then and now.
Any church not participating in justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with the Creator is by this definition not a church of God. It is like what we studied in the book of James—there is no way to separate faith and works. While works do not save you, they are the fruit of our faith. In this case, the fruit is acting justly and loving mercy.
Missions is an expression that we are participating in the work of God and helping to grow His kingdom in this place. Missions must be a part of the fabric of our church. It is the heartbeat of God, so it should be in our DNA as a congregation. Missions start within our own faith community. It’s not always halfway around the world. It is often across the street, or at a co-worker’s desk down the hall.
As we talked about on Sunday, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that each one of you can be a missionary in your everyday life and give something. What can you give? You may not have the wealth, degrees, skills, or resources you think you need. But we all have something to give, and we all can have and share Jesus.
Throughout the year as a part of our church budget, we set aside a portion of our giving for missions. Some funds were used for Camp HoriSon, and others will be distributed in the coming weeks. I can’t wait to tell you the story of how our church is supporting missions both locally and around the world.
I pray that we continue to be on mission together and invite others to join us. Let us act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly together with our God.
Prayer: God, give us strength to act justly. Help us to love mercy. And may we always walk humbly with You. In Jesus’ holy name we pray, Amen.