There is one verse that seems to inevitably come up when we discuss living a just lifestyle as a follower of Christ. For those of you who have been around CLA-LA for a while, you know this verse as one of the cornerstones of our mission. Perhaps it has become a bit trite. But for all its familiarity, it is profound in its simplicity:
"He has shown you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you but to
do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?”
Micah 6:8
Pages on pages, days and years and millennia have been spent trying to define and describe what it means to live a good life. Micah does it in one sentence. But the brevity of his mandate can sometimes obscure its wide-reaching impact.
What has always been challenging to me about Micah’s expression here is that it contains no tasks. No objectives are listed. Unlike the Ten Commandments, there’s no list of “shalls” and “shall nots”. Micah is describing the Lord’s demands, not as projects that we can do on the side while the rest of our life goes on undisturbed, nor as fences within which we must stay, but as something much more personal.
Do justice. Love kindness. Walk humbly with your God.
In every interaction. In every relationship. In work and in play.
In all of your life.
If that sounds impossibly vague, or entirely unrealistic, you’re understanding it right. Because conforming the intricacies of our lives and the complex challenges of living in modern society to the simplicity of the Gospel is hard. We cannot do it on our own. But, by unfathomable grace and in the community of believers, we are transformed day by day. We begin to understand what it means to live the good life as the Lord continues His work in and through us.
So this year, CLA-LA has resolved to explore on a deeper level—and in a more practical way—what it means to do justice. We are leaning in to hear the Lord’s heart, both for us and for our communities. We are committed to pursuing excellence and relying on grace as we live out Micah’s mandate.
We invite you to join us.
