It’s one of the most tragic ironies in the world. Our culture seems to see Christianity as the very thing it stands against. Our faith is remarkably non-legalistic; while every other worldview says we have to do something good to deserve something good, our gospel says our good work has been done for us by the grace of Christ. Grace frees us from legalism. And yet Christianity has a reputation of forcing restrictive rules upon people, and enforcing the mantra of “just be moral and go to heaven!” Something is seriously out of place.
We seem to have normalized a serious misunderstanding of the gospel. We have it backwards. We don’t do good so that Christ will save us; Christ has saved us, so that we may do good. We are not legalists; we are redeemed. We are given the gift of the freedom to live the great way we were always supposed to. In fairness, we may get bogged down by all the laws throughout the Old Testament and forget the main point. But Micah reminds us in this passage that these laws are all showing us what the good life is at its best. And it really boils down to three things!
We act justly. We work to see God’s will being done, so that order and fairness reign in society and every kind of evil injustice is properly dealt with.
We love mercy. We treat one another with selfless love and sacrificial care, even going beyond the demands of justice to do every imaginable good for our fellow man.
And we walk humbly with our God. Floored by his glory and wisdom and humbled by how small and ignorant we are, we submit ourselves with full faithful obedience to him and glorify his name with our every waking breath.
But remember, these are not regulations and expectations set upon us. These were the laws that the Israelites were required to follow, the standard that Christ perfectly fulfilled on our behalf, and the great life for which we have been redeemed. God has shown what is good for us! This is the fruit that naturally comes out of those saved from darkness. It turns out that the life God wants us to have is the best life a human could possibly have. A life full of the goodness of God is better than every other shadow of goodness the world could give us. So act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God. There really is nothing better.
