Doing Justice, Loving Mercy, and Walking Humbly
Micah’s exhortation (6:8) to God’s people reminds us of what the Lord requires of us, and what is good, according to His eternal perspective. In light of the immense needs and injustices, as well as the absence of love in our own communities and in the world today, we need to continuously reflect on this penetrating truth, completely internalize it, and act consistently upon it.
On doing justice…
Righteousness and justice are the foundations of God’s throne (Psalm 89:14). God loves justice and abhors injustice. To know God, we must understand how much He delights in love, justice, and righteousness. But, even though we claim to know God, we forever turn a blind eye towards the countless injustices we see among us in the here and now. We accommodate ourselves to the systems of this world that favor a few and unjustly treat the rest. We seek our own well being above the well being of those around us. How is this so commonplace among us as followers of Jesus? Many would redefine the richness of biblical justice, which is referenced 134 times in the Bible, simply in terms of righteousness. And then we limit righteousness to personal rightness, upstanding character, or individual holiness.
Yet, the fundamental social implications of biblical justice go far beyond this kind of individualistic righteousness we substitute it with. We are required to right the wrongs, both big and small, in order to actively “do” justice. We are required to be aware of the distorted systems that frame our present world with injustice and to struggle against them as we follow Jesus.
We are not only meant to conscientiously object to the macro injustices that are so evident, but more importantly, we are meant to announce and manifest a new way — God’s way of peace and justice and mercy in even the smallest, unseen places.
It seems overwhelming, and out of our realm of possibilities, but the little ways we live out doing justice with our children, spouses, and neighbors, trains us for being effective seekers and doers of justice in the bigger social issues as well. God wants us to hunger for justice. But do we? What are we hungry for today? Are we willing to check our appetites and seek a diet consistent with God’s menu for life?
On loving mercy…
What is mercy? We most often define mercy as loving kindness or steadfast love. The Hebrew word for mercy is chesed. Chesed conveys a covenant relationship and refers to God’s love for His people Israel–a steadfast and unwavering love that He promises to His children. It goes far beyond the indiscriminate acts of kindness where no relationship is present.
Mercy in God’s sense of the word is a kind of covenant compassion, a love for the other that comes deep from the gut because you understand your connection with the other. It is ongoing and implies a kind of loyalty to the connectedness of being that we share. It demands a deep commitment to one another, as God showed His mercy to us.
How do we love mercy then? By recognizing unabashedly God’s mysterious, unbelievable love for us, undeserving of it as we are, and acting extravagantly upon that truth by reaching out towards others to manifest that kind of covenant compassion, a love for the other that is unconditional. Loving mercy reflects our deep appreciation for God’s mercy for us as His children when we make that kind of grace available towards others as we seek reconciling relationships, fruitful connectedness, and integral healing.
God wants us to love others as He loves us…(as we love ourselves). But do we? How are we being merciful today? Are we willing to enter into the need, pain and brokenness of others to the extent God was willing to enter into ours?
On Walking humbly before our God…
Humility seems to be in short order these days, sometimes even among us as Christ followers. It seems more and more we seek to make a name for ourselves, even when talking, writing about, and spreading the message of God’s love and mission.
As compassion and justice has become popularized both inside and out of the Christian faith, the danger is that the real hunger for righteousness and justice is for the recognition, acknowledgment, and celebration it brings to our name or institution or church at the expense of Christ and His kingdom.
Jesus warned the disciples of the danger of our human tendency to celebrate our actions, our abilities, our capacities or anything other than the fact that our names are written in the book of life. He openly rebuked them for their over-enthusiasm about the incredible ways God used them in healing the sick and commanding the demons to leave the possessed, “Don’t rejoice in the fact that you can do great things using my name…rejoice that you have a name because of Me” (to paraphrase John 10).
When we understand justice as a foundational part of God’s character and throne, and realize that we are saved from our damaged condition by His covenant compassion and mercy, our honest response can only be to humbly participate in His plans to make all things new in order for His name to be known and lifted up.
God wants us to have a humble attitude when we are operating as His faithful followers, grateful for His central presence in our lives, and cooperating fully with the reconciliation and restoration process as we walk with Him through life. But do we? How are we guarding our hearts against self-aggrandizement for the things we accomplish using His name? Are we willing to lay down our lives, our reputations, our names for the sake of His?
Lord, have mercy on us. Forgive us. Restore us. Help us to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with you…Amen.