Nancy Taylor Tate
“He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” Micah 6:8.
This verse has been in a prominent place on my wall since 1981, where I’ve seen it daily, an expression of my desire for this to become part of my life, who I am, the way I think and act. More recently, someone seeing the faded paper on my wall, gave me a beautiful wood plaque which catches the same thought in fewer words: “Act justly, Love mercy, Walk humbly.”
When the disciples were disturbed by those who did not welcome Jesus as He came to Samaria, they asked, “Do You want us to call fire down on them?” “But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them” Luke 9:55-56.
During His condescension as man, Jesus demonstrated a life governed not by what others said or did, but by His Heavenly Father. The Lord is raising up such a people today who know their God and pray, speak, and act from His heart. They are not controlled by nor will they retaliate to less than noble behavior, but they overcome as they continue in righteousness and truth, pressing toward the mark set before them.
What does the Lord require of us? That word “require” is a strong word. May we do what is right, love mercy, and walk humbly, treating others as we ourselves would like to be treated. A little rhyme I learned as a child states it simply: “Be you to others kind and true, as you would have others be to you.”
May God so work in our hearts that it becomes not just our choice, but our very nature to reflect the Father’s heart in this way. Jesus was never controlled by the opposition coming against Him. It never changed who He was, how He acted, or what He was doing. He just kept on keeping on, doing what He was called to do, and in that was great victory.
As we align ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, may we not see with mere judgment, but with the compassion of Christ, that instead of accusation, intercession might flow through us, opening the way for a mighty move of God in the pocket of time we have.
As Christians, we have been given a spirit of discernment, enabling us to hear beyond words, to know what spirit is operating – life or death. Never has the battle between darkness and light been stronger. There are those who want to destroy; there are those who want to restore.
Jesus came to seek and to save the lost! There is a harvest yet to come into the church. For those already saved, there is an upward call to walk in righteousness, to know God, and to speak and pray from His heart. May we purpose to respond to that call, making ourselves available to the Lord as we do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with Him.