Having been challenged to write a series on “How to Be a Christian,” I’ve been considering what that would look like. I confess that it is a difficult subject for me to approach. It would be easy to go down the pietistic path of “do this, don’t do that,” but a more appropriate title for that would be “How to Present a Convincing Façade of Christianity.” Certainly, there are things that Christians must do and others that we must not do. But those things are only consequential to who we are.

There are a number of passages of Scripture that more or less summarize the Christian life. You may be thinking of these words of Christ: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27, cf. Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37–39; Mark 12:30–31). You might also think of Galatians 5 (the fruit of the Spirit is . . .), or Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.

Those are all fitting passages to think of in defining the Christian life. However, the first passage that comes to my mind, probably because of the old Maranatha tune, and also because I’ve had my children memorize it, is Micah 6:8:

He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God?

First, we see that we have no excuse for ignorance about what is good and pleasing to God, because God has told us. And what is it that is good and pleasing to him?

1. Do justice. The meaning of this is quite simple: do the right thing. Give what is deserved; take only what is earned; pay what is owed; deal honestly and impartially.
2. Love kindness (or mercy). This requirement moderates the previous. We often encounter people who, like ourselves, deserve harsh treatment. But we are to love mercy. If we love mercy, we will forego the justice that is due us in order to show mercy to an offender; and we will do so, not grudgingly, but joyfully, knowing what great mercy we have received.
3. Walk humbly with your God. This is the big one. The previous two points are really included in this one. What are the implications of walking humbly with God? What does that mean? It means that in all our thoughts of ourselves, we will see ourselves in relation to, and in comparison to, God. That comparison will cause us to see ourselves realistically in relation to him, and to act accordingly. Our humility before God will be manifest in what we know and in what we do.
   
   We will know that
   
   
   1. Whereas God is holy, we are unholy.
   2. Whereas God is love, we are unloving.
   3. Whereas God is self-sacrificial, we are self-centered.
   4. Whereas God is entirely independent and self-sufficient, we are utterly helpless and dependent on him.
   5. Whereas God is all-knowing and all-wise, we are ignorant and foolish.
   
   And the list could go on. Knowing those things, we will
   
   
   1. Confess our sin and seek his mercy.
   2. Love him and be profoundly grateful to him.
   3. Desire to know and obey his Word.
   4. Trust his wisdom rather than our own.
   5. Be entirely dependent on him in every way.
   
   Again, the list could continue. In short, if we have a realistic view of ourselves in relation to God, we will think nothing of ourselves, and everything of God. So the whole of the Christian life is neatly summarized in that one phrase — “walk humbly with your God.”