To act justly, to love tenderly and to walk humbly

"And what does the Lord require of you? Only this, to act justly, to love tenderly and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:6-8).

The Lord asks only these three things: justice, love and humility. He does not ask for offerings and sacrifices; they don't please the Lord. Justice is giving another one her due. It is recognizing the inherent dignity of being a God's child in the other, as in oneself. But if I hate myself, I can't love the other. If I am able to give myself my own due and dignity, and realise that I am God's Beloved, then I will be able to do it in the other. I will be able to love her as she is, and accept her too as God's child. Grace builds on nature; it does not avoid or destroy nature. You are created in the image of God from the very beginning (Genesis 1:26-27). This is the basis for God’s justice: Since everyone is made in the image of God, then we need to recognize, honour, and respect the image of God in everyone. No exceptions.

Secondly, life is about relationships. And truest relationship is love. What Prophet Micah gives us is to love tenderly, or to love mercy. God's nature is love, absolute relationship itself. God's other name is mercy. In our being, and thus in our action, we are called to love, to be merciful. Nothing human can stop the flow of divine love; we cannot undo the eternal pattern even by our worst sin. This is God's love for us. This is what we are called to imitate. To participate in the divine circle dance of love, and thus through us proclaim and include others in this divine dance.

Finally, humility is the honesty to be oneself, and to accept oneself with all the imperfections, and thus have the courage to accept others as they are with their imperfections. Humility is the mother of all virtues; it is mother of all growth. To be humble is to be honest. Humility and honesty are essentially the same thing. One who is humble is brutally honest about oneself and is open to truth. The only people who grow in truth are those who are humble and honest. Without these two qualities, we don't grow. The only honest response to the mystery of life is a humble one. Humility is the only appropriate response to Mystery: the mystery of life, the mystery of God.