We all want to do something great in our lives, we want to make an impact, to leave a lasting mark on the world. I could make a list of all the amazing people I know that are doing incredible things all across the world today. When we work with people trapped by poverty, the cruelty of others, or an unjust system we feel moved to action. This is a normal, and even righteous, response when we see evil in the world.

But what if God is calling us to something even greater?

“Doing justice” is a phrase that I hear thrown around quite often. It’s a somewhat trendy catchphrase adopted by lots of churches and missionaries. It’s not a bad trend because the truth is that we do need to do justice for the impoverished, the orphaned, and the victimized. God wants us to “do justice” in His name, but He also wants to know us deeply.

Micah 6:8 says, “He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”

We love to preach on the acting justly part, and I am all for it! Our world desperately needs action. In fact, our ministry is about bringing justice and mercy and truth to bear on the lives of those who have experienced great injustice and loss. More followers of Christ need to join the fight for justice and mercy. But we can’t ignore the rest of the verse.

God wants us to walk with Him, in humility. It’s so easy to spend our days focused on a program, on an idea, on a plan of action but sometimes we neglect the importance of humble dependence on God. I don’t want to be someone that pushes my agenda while leaving God in the dust. I don’t want to grow a ministry that sidelines Him and makes me the star. I want to learn to walk with Him…doing His work…with Him..in humility.

What if “doing justice” is much more about growing in my relationship with God than saving the world? What if God is calling me to the broken places on this earth to break me down? What if I am missing Him in all the “doing?” Just something I’m chewing on today. Thoughts, anyone?