The God of Justice
2008-06-05

Finally back. I had a staff meeting at church yesterday at 5pm, and had to run errands for my oldest daughter in the morning. Summer always wreaks havoc on my devotional schedule. Maybe this year, I'll get it right.

Psalm for today: Psalm 27

"The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?" Verse 1


In my Tabletalk magazine for today, the scripture passage is Ephesians 2:1-10. A lot of people are very familiar with verses 8-9 in this passage, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." But two of my favorite words in the whole Bible are in verse 4 of Ephesians 2. "But God..." I believe that these are the two most beautiful words in the whole Bible. Let me put them in context, beginning in verse 1: "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience--among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. BUT GOD, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ..."

"But God..." Were it not for "But God..." we would still be dead. Praise God for his abundant mercy and love!


Day 173

Amos 2:6-8

God makes it clear in this passage how much he hates injustice. He points out the people's sin of not caring about others in this passage.
"They'd sell a poor man for a pair of shoes. They'd sell their own grandmother! They grind the penniless into the dirt, shove the luckless into the ditch." And finally, "Stuff they've extorted from the poor is piled up at the shrine of their god, while they sit around drinking wine they've conned from their victims." Pretty harsh accusations.

Do we have similar injustices around us today? Do we sell people out for a pair of shoes? Maybe not, but I've heard of people being murdered for their shoes.

Do we practice extortion? Take a look at the gas pump. Take a look at the prescription drug prices. Apartment managers charge different prices for the same apartment, depending on a variety of "qualifications."

Our world is so full of injustices, and they make God sick to his stomach. But what are we to do about them? Good question. I've always felt that our primary function in this world, as Christians, is to live a Christ-like life and spread the "good news." I've never believed that it is our job to rid the world of evil. That's why I don't think it's necessarily a good thing for Christians to get too involved in politics or demonstrations and stuff like that. What works better? Marching around an abortion clinic holding disgusting pictures of fetuses or counseling with prospective abortion clients one-on-one with a positive message of hope? I know my answer.

That being said, there are ways that Christians can express their concern over injustice in the world. We just need wisdom to know how to handle it. I don't feel comfortable donating money to organizations that are sending relief to Burma because I know that the evil government of the country won't allow it to get in anyway. So my donations are wasted. However, I will gladly send a monthly donation to Compassion International, who is taking that money to help a child in Thailand have education, food, clothing, and the gospel. I will also gladly send a monthly donation to a mission organization to support a friend of mine who is now in Peru, working with native tribes in that country.

Here's the deal. When people get Jesus, injustice takes a hit. Every time. So the real way to rid the world of evil is to inject it with hope. That's my opinion, anyway.


Father, help us to not turn a deaf ear to the injustice in our world. But help us also to have wisdom as to how to respond to that injustice. Give us hearts to pray. Help us know when giving financial support is helpful and when it is not. Make us wise stewards of the resources that we have received from you. And we will always pray that you, O God, will intervene where there is injustice.

As we read/watch/listen to the news every day, let that be a springboard for our prayers. The world is in shambles. Only God can fix it.

Grace and peace, friends.



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