This is an easy question to answer. All we need to do is go to Micah 6:8 to find the answer. When asked this question, Micah answered “to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
Okay, since we have the answer, I can sit down and end the sermon now. That’s all well and good but this response raises more questions than it answers. Each of these words or terms requires a search of the scriptures to determine what it means.
The other issue is what did Jesus say about what was required of us. That again is easy to find. Matthew 22:36 gives a simple and succinct response. When asked what the greatest commandment was He responded, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it; Love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments.
Let’s use this as our starting point and then return to Micah as we place it into Jesus’ statement.
The ancient Hebrews started this whole discussion with a single verse way back at the time of Moses in Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear, O Israel; The Lord, our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” The Deuteronomist author goes on to tell us how to do this. “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them 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. Tie them as symbols on your hand and bind them on your forehead. Write them on your doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” This is why orthodox Jews use symbols on their bodies and homes even today.
This is the concept that I want to emphasize today. Christianity is an attitude. It is an attitude that you live with every waking moment of each day. Loving God is a full time operation. It isn’t merely going to church for 1 hour a week. It isn’t only offering grace before a meal or a bedtime prayer. Christianity is a way of living.
God’s law should become so ingrained in each of us that it is who we are. People should be able to see that we are a Christian by how we live, what we say, and how we treat everyone else.
Let’s look further at how we show our love for God.
We begin by praising him with thanksgiving. Psalm 19 that we read in response earlier spells this out very well. The ancient Hebrews loved to share all God had done for them throughout their history. Over and over again they repeat the stories of the way God had led them out of slavery and then guided them through the wilderness and continued to help when things became difficult for them. The patriarchs are mentioned dozens of times in both the Old and New Testaments as being led by God. Praise of God means telling others what He has done for you.
When we stop and examine the 10 Commandments, we discover that they are covered with the two commandments of Jesus. Exodus tells us to have no others Gods before Jehovah. In her first sermon on Freedom Pastor Jonette pointed out that there are two things we need to remember about God. 1 There is a God and 2 you are not him. It is so easy to forget this point. It isn’t merely obeying God’s laws, it is living them. How many things have we placed above God—personal pleasure, comfort, sports, movies, pop culture. It isn’t about going to church on Sunday, it is living the right way. Besides having no gods before Jehovah the Ten Commandments goes on to say we are to have no idols, not to take the name of God in vain and to remember the Sabbath.
It is extremely difficult to separate the second commandment of Jesus from the first. “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you are loving God to the fullest and have created the attitude of love in your life, this will carry over to the love of others.
Christ did not say to hate anyone who attacks you. How easy is it to turn the other cheek as he directs us when someone cuts us off on the road, when someone insults us even in the slightest way, when someone bothers someone you care about. Jesus presents us with the Gospel of Love. Care about people even if you might not like what they do or say. Help other people may not believe what you believe.
When you look at the 10 commandments, you will note that the last 6 are relating to living the right life. Honor your father and mother, do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, and do not covet. These are pretty straightforward. Most of us have no problem following them. It becomes much harder to practice the gospel of love that Jesus set for us.
Our church as a marvelous pattern of supporting others. We feed the homeless once a month. Have you been and helped with this period of sharing. We send teams to Appalachia. When was the last time you joined this team? We visit the shut-ins. When was the last time you made a visit? We send a lot of money to a different mission each month. What have we done besides sending money?
Simple things that you can do to show this love of neighbor is to call someone who might be isolated, visit someone homebound, drive someone to the grocery, write a note of praise to a friend, say a good word about someone. Love of neighbor is an everyday activity. Smile, laugh, show joy, share humor. These help others feel god and show that we really love our neighbor.
In Genesis 1:26 God tells us more about how we should live. “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth and all the creatures that move on the ground.” Then He concludes with the statement that ends each day of creation. “And it was good.” God created the world and then turned it over to us to care for. We have a job to do. Part of showing our love for God is to care for the world He created. How well have we been doing at this? Our love of the earth that is God’s demands concern and caring. In other words it is part of our attitude of love for God and all he created.
Jesus set a standard for us to live and follow. Love God and love your neighbor. This is what God requires of us. Remember Micah’s answer to the question of what does God require of us. “To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” Both elements are needed. If you love God, then loving the neighbor is much easier. Loving your neighbor makes loving God much easier.
Practice both forms of love in your daily lives. Remember that being a Christian is an attitude of love—selfless love directed toward God, our neighbors, and the whole world God created.