KEEPING BODY AND SOUL TOGETHER

“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 exactly does the Lord require of us? He requires what Jesus Christ modeled during His public ministry – the Good News in word and in deed. At dinner with His disciples, as He walked through the marketplace, as children crowded around Him, Jesus continually pointed the way to the Father. At the same time, He fed the poor; He healed the blind, the sick and the lame; and He affirmed the dignity of women, Samaritans, and other social outcasts of the day.

Before Christ ascended to heaven, He left clear commands to His followers in Matthew 28:19: “As you go, preach, making disciples and baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” God’s Old Testament commands are equally compelling: “Impress [the words of God] on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (Deuteronomy 6:7). If we believe in… the Scriptures, we must take those commands to heart. For the believer, living the law of God, spreading His Word, and leader men and women to Christ should be as natural as breathing.

So, too, should be the acts of doing the gospel. In his epistle, James told the people of God that “pure religion and undefiled is this: ‘to feed the orphans and comfort the widow in her distress’” (James 1:27). The Apostle Paul helped to raise funds for famine relief and commended the Macedonian Christians for their rich generosity in giving to their brothers and sisters in physical need. 

“What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” 

-- Charles Colson (1931-2012) in an article entitled “Doing Justice, Loving Mercy, Walking Humble” in Discipleship Journal, No. 63

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