What more is required of you?

This question was presented to me (and several others) at a spiritual formation workshop this past weekend.

Sometimes when a question is posed, my mind fills with blank space...and there is no immediate answer. In this situation, the answer that immediately sprang to mind was honesty. My answer, however, is not the answer. I don't know what the answer is for you...

With this kind of question, I think we might be inclined to respond in terms of what we are doing...and if we're Christians, we might respond in terms of what we are doing for God. Is that how the question strikes you?

As I thought about my answer, and pondered what I might say about the subject of honesty, I was drawn to this well known passage from the Old Testament book of Micah:

"He has shown you what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God."

There is nothing in this passage about "doing stuff"...nothing about teaching Sunday school, or making cookies for Vacation Bible School, or singing in the choir, or going to a foreign country as a missionary. Why do you suppose that is?

Among different Christian denominations, there has been a lot of debate over the years about whether we are "saved" by faith, or by our works, or by some combination of the two. In the New Testament book of James, we're told that our works are evidence of our faith...and...that without works, our faith is dead.

Maybe God trusts the process of relationship more than we do. Maybe the passage in Micah reflects what God believes and knows...that if we walk in humility toward Him, act justly toward others, and love mercy...the rest of the "stuff" that is required of us will take care of itself.

There's nothing in this way of thinking that lets us off the hook, in terms of how we live our lives. And that's where honesty comes into play...how honest are we...with ourselves...about how we live our life? Is there any outward evidence of your internal relationship with God? Can others look at my life, or yours...and see signs of humility...acts of justice...a heart of mercy?

Honesty may be the thing that's required of me, after all.