Micah 6:8
He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? //

This is easily my favorite verse in the Bible. It condenses the heart of God and the walk of salvation, into one verse. God requires justice. But when we fail and we will… There is this wonderful experience of mercy, available through His Grace. It is hard to be arrogant and proud, when you have slipped and fallen. From the down position, it takes a hand to get up. God graciously extends a hand, when we fail the measure of true justice. Sometimes directly and sometimes through others. When we accept the hand that lifts, restores and guides. We can not live in the selfish realm of ego – self centeredness any more. It took mercy to lift us and it takes humility to ask for help and receive it. – – In a way, we are all prodigals needing the gracious hand of our Maker to help us overcome the inward tendency to fail the standard of justice. When we admit this inward need, we become candidates for the miraculous inner working of salvation through His Spirit. And ironically, when we stand after a fall, through the work of grace; Often, we are able to do the just walking that we could not do in the first place. Only this time with a deep inward knowing that it is God’s hand that strengthens and sustains us. And gives us the power that we need to live rightly.