He has told you, O mortal, 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 NRSV
This passage of Scripture is so very well known that it has become almost a cliché. The key terms look so simple that it is possible to slide right across it and miss the actual profundity of what it says.
In the previous two verses, Micah is asking what kinds of sacrifices he should bring to atone for the “sin of his soul.” Now of course that is a significant issue: something has to be done about the sinful condition of our innermost being (“the soul”). But forgiveness is not what God is ultimately interested in. So, he pushes right past it in his response. What was he wanting (the idea of the word here translated “require”) when he created humanity (the word here translated “mortal” is ’adam)? What was his creation purpose (which is what “good” connotes)?
Let’s go to the end: he made us to walk with him! Like any good father, he wants to have a close relationship with us. So he says to Micah, “I want you to pay close attention to your walk with me.” [“Humbly” is a nice idea, but it is almost certainly the wrong understanding of this word, It is probably “carefully.”]
If you’re going to walk with somebody, you have to agree on where you’re going, and how fast you’re going to walk. Here, you can only walk with God if your life is characterized by what characterizes his. Two things: do mishpat, and love khesed. In both cases, the traditional translations are not wrong, but they are inadequate. Mishpat is the divine pattern of life necessary to human flourishing. It does involve equitable treatment of others, and also retribution, but the best brief explanation comes from Jesus (surprise?). “Do to others what you want them to do to you.”
Khesed is to give yourself away. Yes, it is kindness (or mercy), but it is so much more than that. It is what God does all the time. He loves to give himself away. Do you, do I? I fear that when I do it, I do it a little grudgingly. No! Love it!
“Come on, child, let’s go for a walk!”
Called To Be Transformed 