How are We to Love God and Love Others?

Missionaries in India preparing to tell a Bible story

He has showed you, O man, 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 6:8 (NIV)

 What does God want and expect from us? We already know that righteousness is off the table, we don’t have a chance of that on our own (Romans 3:23). Some have given up all their earthly wealth and possessions. I think of Francis Chan and how God directed him in his life to literally give up everything and just trust God to provide. Is that what God wants? Well yes, in some ways that is what He asks of all of us, that we would hold more tightly to God than we do to things of this world. But really, giving money to God is not what we’re talking about here. God doesn’t need our money. The Bible says He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. So, He doesn’t want us to be perfect, He doesn’t want our money, what does He want?

 Today’s verse says God wants us to act justly. In other translations this reads: to do what is right, to promote justice, to carry out justice. In today’s political climate, justice has taken on new meaning for me. The word brings to mind social justice and taking up for the little guy. It’s not standing idly by while evil is being done right in front of you. My friend, Aaron, from church inspired me in this area by speaking up for immigrants and people with disabilities. He’s not afraid to share challenging content and reason together with people on Facebook. My friend, Melinda, from Love God Greatly also inspired me by lovingly probing and asking respectful questions about what I believed on certain political issues. God used these two people to spur me on to write a series of posts on my blog, taking up for people who have very little voice themselves. I’m not sure what, if anything, will come from it, but that is my way, today, to act justly.

 To love mercy. Other words used in different translations here are: kindness, faithfulness, compassion and goodness. I almost feel like you have to slow down to do this. Mercy doesn’t seem like something that can be given or experienced at high speeds. In the busyness of today’s life, we miss opportunities to show mercy to others. We’re in such a hurry to get where we’re going that we can’t stop to help the person broken down on the side of the road. We’re so worn out from the many things we’re doing that we don’t have anything left for our child who needs a comforting ear. But when we slow down, when we cut back on what we allow onto our calendar, when we leave margin in our day, God will bring us opportunities. I read a story this morning before doing my study, I can only believe that God brought it across my path because it fits so well, that really exemplifies this. This is a true story of a man that was mugged and then ended up taking his mugger out to dinner and showing him God’s love. These are the moments we can really be God’s hands and feet to a hurting world. Let’s slow down so we don’t miss them!

 Finally, we are to walk humbly with our God. The NET version says, “to live obediently before your God.” This is where we figure out our place in this world’s pecking order. There are so many stories in the Bible that talk about the importance of humility. The first one that comes to mind is a teaching Jesus gave in Luke 14:7-11

When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: "When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, 'Give this person your seat.' Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."

 We are not to think of ourselves as more important than others (Philippians 2:3). God has been working on me with this more than I’d like – it’s quite uncomfortable. Things that I thought negatively of others on in the past (I know I shouldn’t have, but I did) are now becoming my norm. Things I thought I was very good at, I now can barely do at all. But what I’m learning is that the smaller I get, the bigger God gets to me. The more I recognize that I can’t, the more I get to experience that He can. The burden and weight I put on myself foolishly because I thought that everything depended on me is falling away piece by piece. I think I am becoming a better person, and one more likely to be used by God, because I’m less likely to receive or try to take the credit myself. It has become more and more apparent that it is God at work in my life that has enabled me to do things, not any of my own skill or prowess.

Here's the Thing: In so many places I’ve seen the summary, “Love God and love others.” Jesus being one of the main sources of this teaching, it is entirely valid. But this verse from Micah today really puts a different spin on it. It shows us how we are to love. It shows us how to position ourselves, how to slow down, and how to truly put others first. Let’s love like God does!