Formally Commissioned

Formally Commissioned

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

Micah 6:8

IN WORD God gave His people ten commandments, out of which flowed hundreds more. He was rather specific about many of them: moral behavior in relationships, rules for forgiveness and restoration, specifications for worship, and more. At first glance, it could look like a highly complex legal system. Seemingly, any defendant on the stand would be justified in saying, “I just didn’t understand the law.”

But the Judge makes it simple for us. In effect, He says: “It all boils down to this. Do justice, be zealously merciful, and have a humble heart toward Me. Those three things will put you in a position of being guided into all truth and goodness. I always keep loving, fair, and humble hearts on track.”

The key to life in our world isn’t simply to follow all of God’s rules. It’s to live by God’s character. One is formulaic and will drain the life out of you. The other is personal and will infuse you with the life of the One you love. It’s not a complicated choice. It may be hard sometimes, but there’s nothing complex about it. If you know who God is, you know how you’re to be: righteous, merciful, and humble—just like Jesus.

IN DEED The world can be a complicated place to live, but often the complexity is an illusion. People make things more difficult than they really are. Some Christians come up with behavioral codes that rival the excitement and joy of the fine print of a legal contract or an accounting sheet. And behind all of the specifics is a God who tells us that if we’re like Him, following the rules will come naturally, and if we’re not like Him, following the rules will be impossible.

In God’s courtroom, the rules aren’t hard to remember. Whenever we look at the Judge, they sink deeper into us. His character begins to define our walk—our just, compassionate, humble walk.

The pearl of justice is found in the heart of mercy.

—CATHERINE OF SIENA