What God Expects from Us
Micah 6:8 is a clear, crisp, and simple summary of what God expects from you and me. These three things that matter so much to God are the three things God wants to see in us: justice, kindness, and humility.
To act justly is to treat people fairly and respectfully. You do not oppress or mistreat others. You do not abuse your power by taking the good things God has given to other people, such as life, freedom, and property. There is a quote at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., that reads, “Thou shalt not be a victim. Thou shalt not be a perpetrator. Above all, thou shalt not be a bystander.” That’s justice.
What about kindness? To show kindness is to help the poor, the downtrodden, and the hurting. Kindness is like the Good Samaritan rescuing the wounded traveler. Jack Jezreel, the founder of Just Faith Ministries, illustrates the difference between kindness and justice:
Suppose one morning I wake up, look out my window, and in the stream that runs behind my house, I see a man who is unconscious, wet, and bleeding? Of course, I’d rush to his aid and give him medical attention and get him to the hospital. What if the next day I find another man in the stream in the same condition? Well, I’d also take care of him. But if on the third day I found another person, after getting that person to the hospital, I’d better walk upriver and find out how and why these bodies are getting into the stream! Both justice and kindness are important, but kindness deals with symptoms, and justice deals with causes.
The third requirement is humility. “Walk humbly with your God.” A person who walks humbly thinks, “It’s not about me. It’s all about Jesus. I don’t think less of myself, but I think about myself less. I want to be more of a listener than a talker, more of a giver than a taker, more of a servant than a boss.”
How do these three traits fit together? They all express what it means to love your neighbor as yourself. Justice is when you see someone mistreated, and you respond in love to rescue them. Kindness is when you see someone in need, and you respond in love to help them. Humility is when you see someone, and you focus on them and not yourself. All three traits—justice, kindness, and humility—reflect a heart of love. And all delight our God in heaven.
FAQs
Micah 6:8 is a clear, crisp, and simple summary of what God expects from you and me. These three things that matter so much to God are the three things God wants to see in us: justice, kindness, and humility. To act justly is to treat people fairly and respectfully. You do not oppress or mistreat others.
What did God create from Day 1 to 7? ›
Here are the things created on each day: day 1 - light and darkness; day 2 - sky and sea; day 3 - land; day 4 - sun and moon; day 5 - birds and fish; day 6 - animals, man, and woman; day 7 - God rests. Now compare day 1 with day 4, day 2 with day 5, and day 3 with day 6.
What are the three things God expects from us? ›
“What does the Lord require?” he asks in response to their emotional, over-the-too offers of sacrifice to appease God. “God doesn't want rams or rivers or dead children. He wants only three things from you: to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with Him. That's enough, and that's plenty.
What does God want us to do on the seventh day? ›
“Work may be done for six days, but on the seventh day there is to be a Sabbath of complete rest…” (Leviticus 23:3, CSB). “…and they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment” (Luke 23:56, NKJV).
What happens on Day 7 in the Bible? ›
By the seventh day God finished the work he had been doing. So on the seventh day he rested from all of his work. God blessed the seventh day and made it a holy day. He made it holy because on that day he rested.
Why did God take 7 days to create the world? ›
God created everything ex nihilo (out of nothing) and rules over all. His resting on the 7th day is also important; it is not to show that God was tired, but that his creating was over and complete.
What are the five responsibilities of man towards God's creation? ›
Note the key words in this passage: be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, subdue, rule. We can encapsulate these ideas by using the word abundance. Humans were created with the intent of abundant living.
What pleases God the most? ›
Having faith pleases God.
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).
What is the only thing God wants from us? ›
To love the Lord is the most important thing that God asks of us. The sum and the substance of everything that God has said is simply to love Him. This has been and will continue to be the central issue of life. The heart of the matter is always the matter of the heart.
What God expects from you? ›
God expects you to trust Him, Love Him and pattern yourself after His Son, Jesus Christ. “What would Jesus do?” is still the best question to ask for every decision we make and every action we take. To learn more about God's expectations for us, study Ephesians, chapters 4-6.
As followers of Jesus, God does not expect us to live by Israel's laws. However, the wisdom of these laws remains, and the law of the Sabbath is rich with significance for us today. Sabbath is not a commandment we are bound to; it's a promise we're invited to enjoy.
Is Saturday the real Sabbath day? ›
According to Old Testament laws, the Sabbath is the seventh day of the week, Saturday. However, in Christian practice, the term Sabbath has often been applied to Sunday in recognition of the day of Christ's resurrection.
What are you supposed to do on the seventh day? ›
The Sabbath is About God's Presence
On the Sabbath we should do things that remind us of God's presence with us and the rest he provides for us through his good work on our behalf. On the Sabbath day, enjoy being present with others God has placed in your life.
What does the number 7 mean to God? ›
The idea of resting and the number seven are intimately connected in the Bible. In Genesis 1. Genesis 1. , the word or number "seven" has two key symbolic meanings: seven represents a full and complete world, and getting to seven is a linear journey from one to seven.
What does the number 7 mean spiritually? ›
In the metaphysical philosophy of numerology, the number 7 signifies the Greek deity Athena and the Roman deity Minerva, both goddesses of war and the city protectress. People affiliated with the number seven are believed to be insightful, intuitive, truthful, introspective, intellectual, and wise.
What did God do on day 1? ›
Genesis 1–2 tells the story of God's creation of the world. On the first day, God created light in the darkness. On the second, He created the sky. Dry land and plants were created on the third day.
What did God make in the 7th day? ›
The seventh day of creation and the close of the first creation account are described in Gen 2:1-3: Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.
What are the 7 days of creation for kids? ›
On the first day, there was light; on the second day, the sky and the air; on the third day, there was land and plants; on the fourth day, there was the sun and moon; on the fifth day, there were birds and aquatic animals; and on the sixth day, there were animals and man. Interesting, right?
How long were the 7 days of creation? ›
It holds that the six days referred to in the Genesis account of creation are not literal 24-hour days, but are much longer periods (from thousands to billions of years). The Genesis account is then reconciled with the age of the Earth.
What did God create on the eighth day? ›
Consider the creation narrative in Genesis. Seven days creates one perfect, whole, complete cycle of creation and rest. After that—on the eighth day—is when humanity really begins. On that seventh day, “God ceased from the work that God had done,” and on the eighth God made humanity a partner in creation (Genesis 2:1).
