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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)

When I think of justice I generally see that as a good thing, when something wrong is being set right.  But justice can seem harsh when it is exacted against us.  Nobody likes to be on the receiving end of the consequences of bad behavior or lapsed judgment no matter how much we might deserve it.

Mercy might seem like the opposite of justice.  We might want to see someone suffer the full penalty of their offenses, but how often do we know all the story? Where would we be if we were given the punishments we truly deserved?

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 (NRSV)

We all have earned the just penalty of death because we all sin.  But in Christ we all have access to His mercy.  

So how do we do justice? How do we exact kindness and walk humbly with our God?