As far as summaries of the Bible go, Micah 6:8 is one of the better-known ones. In contrast to the excessive (and sometimes vain) worship that Israel offered, Micah asked a simple question: “What does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
Truly, that’s it. Those three ideas—justice, kindness, humility—and the deployment of each in our lives summarize what it means to be a child of God. They encompass everything.
But Micah wasn’t the first one to summarize God’s laws in such an easy format. In Deuteronomy 10:12-13, after the long remembrance about their own failures with the golden calf, Moses says something similar:
“What does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the Lord’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?”
On second thought, now that I’ve typed all that out, it sounds like quite a bit. But it still boils down to some basic tenets.
First, fear God. That’s the main thing. A lack of fear of God and an overly loving attitude toward self is what made them turn away from Him, so keeping Him in a position of reverence over everything is key. Naturally, this also involves a healthy respect for His power.
Second, obedience is absolutely necessary. Anyone who argues differently then and now not only doesn’t understand the nature of a covenant but also misrepresents the idea of grace.
But notice how Moses says it three different times. In fact, out of five total commands in these two verses, three of them have to do with obedience: “walk,” “serve,” and “keep.”
As you might imagine, they all address various parts of what it means to be obedient. We “walk” with Him and “serve” Him out of allegiance, while also “keeping” Him separate as with boundaries. He is our lifestyle, our King, and our stronghold. Deuteronomy 10:12-13 involves all of them.
Finally, Moses also tells us to “love” God. If we think of this only as an emotional outlet, then we miss the point. Deuteronomy 7:7-8 says that God demonstrated His love towards us by choosing us above every other nation.
For us to love Him, then, is to do the same. We’re choosing Him to be special and separate from everyone else, much the same way I demonstrated my love to Melina by choosing to marry her. She’s separated, special, chosen, and is my love.
Once again, it comes back (in some ways) to idolatry. What does God require of you? He wants you to choose Him above everyone and everything else. And the way we choose Him isn’t by making a simple decision once upon a time, but by walking with Him, fearing Him, serving Him, and keeping Him.