“He has told you, human one, what is good and
what the Lord requires from you:
to do justice, embrace faithful love, and walk humbly with your God.” – Micah 6:8 (CEB)
The second verb sits on a Hebrew word many of us have heard, hesed. Scholars note it has no clean English equivalent, which is why translations reach for different pieces of it.
Faithful love. Steadfast love. Kindness. Mercy. Loyalty. Each captures part. What they are circling is a commitment that holds when the other party has stopped deserving it. Not affection. Not a feeling that comes and goes with how someone is behaving.
And the verb is embrace, which is not passive. You can be loyal grudgingly. Micah asks for the version that takes hold of it. Most of us know exactly which relationship this lands on, because there is usually one where we have kept the obligation and let go of the warmth. Who have you stayed faithful to while letting the warmth go out of it?
God whose love holds when mine runs out, teach me the kind of faithfulness that stays warm. Bring one person to mind, and go with me there. Amen.