Marching Orders

The Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)

I wonder how many times God comes right out and tells us what we are to do, how we are to live, and when to move, but we stand there like we haven't a clue? God requires very specific things of his family - there should be no mystery about it. To do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly WITH our God - these are three very specific 'marching orders' given to us by God himself.

Do what is right - that pretty much says it all, doesn't it? Yet, we will have those around us, and possibly even our own moments, when we attempt to give our own definition to what is 'right' or 'good'. It is as thought what God declares to be right is just not what we are interested in right at that moment - usually because we are trying to justify something we are doing or allowing others to do that isn't quite 'right'. 

Love mercy - grace being the foundation of our faith, God asks us to operate in the realm of mercy within all the relationships we maintain. That may mean we don't always get our own way. Even when we don't see eye-to-eye on a matter, we don't have to be unkind, hurtful, or outright bullies toward others. Mercy is undeserved kindness - the extension of grace that God asks us to give one another because he first extended it to us when we least deserved it (and he continues to do so over and over again).

Walk humbly with our God - this really caps the other two requirements, for humility will always draw us back to doing what is right and to consider those around us as valuable individuals worthy of God's grace. If we want to consistently 'do' what is right, we need to embrace God's truth as revealed in his Word. Then we need to allow that truth to change our hearts, so we begin to exemplify his 'grace-filled' attitude toward others. 

Marching orders being very clear here, I wonder how many times we choose what is 'more or less' right, but miss the center of the mark on that one just because we want to live 'close to the line'? God's instructions are pretty clear in scripture and even when they are not clear, we need only ask, but we must be willing to hear something other than our own opinion on the matter when we do! Just sayin!