I just completed a youth drama for Christ to the World Ministries on bullying. In it, I addressed three different people: the bully, the victim, and the onlooker. As I wrote about the responsibilities of the onlooker–for those who witness evil behavior, I realized my focal passage had a lot to say about how I lived my life on a moment-by-moment basis.

Micah 6:6-8

⁶ With what shall I come before the LORD
   and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
   with calves a year old?
⁷ Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
   with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
   the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
⁸ He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
   And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
   and to walk humbly with your God.

This verse tells me God is more concerned with my heart than with my outward shows of religion. He’s more concerned with how I live out my faith than how well I occupy a church pew or how eloquently I pray. Packed in this small passage is enough to keep me busy for quite some time.

Lord, may I act justly. May I seek to do what is right in all situations. Help me not to make decisions based on my circumstances or the opinions and expectations of others. Instead, may I live with an unwavering committment to your Word.

Help me to love mercy. May I be known for my love and kindness, not convenient social graces, but the kind of love that reaches out to others and seeks the good of others above my own.

And most of all, may I forever walk humbly in surrendered obedience to You, ever willing to lay everything aside to follow wholeheartedly after You.

Happy Saturday all! And how can you live out your faith today?