I have been pondering on concepts of Justice lately. One catalyst for this has been a movie called Black Gold about the injustice we can be part of unkowlingly through the coffee we buy. More about that later. Here are some thoughts from the Bible:
Isaiah 1:17
Learn to do right!
Seek justice,encourage the oppressed.
Defend the cause of the fatherless,
plead the case of the widow.
Caring for the poor, the weak and the marginalized is central to the life of the Scriptures and its prophets.
God loves justice!
Psalms 33:5
The LORD loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of his unfailing love.
Psalms 82:3-4
Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless;
maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.
Rescue the weak and needy:deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
Micah 6:8 8
He has showed 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.
Jesus was focussed on Justice
Matt 12:18-21
Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
the one I love, in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
He will not quarrel or cry out;
no one will hear his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
till he leads justice to victory.
In his name the nations will put their hope.
Jesus also taught on it.
Matthew 23:23
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. But you ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone.
We are charged to be justice-fighters for those who are unable to set things right on their own. Do we believe in these verses, not simply as words but rather a way of life?
Posted by Braden
About Me
- New Generation
- New Zealand
- New Generation is the youth ministry of the Assemblies Of God in New Zealand. Braden and Andrea Matson are the facilitators and are working with Youth Pastors around the country to equip young people to reach a nation.
1 comment:
I share your thoughts! I have been a Christian for many years and the one thing that has informed my work with youth and my mobilization of communities towards the saving grace of Jesus Christ has been the sense of justice that our God, the Bible and our faith is founded upon! It is however unfortunate that justice is not the focus of many ministries. Living and working in Africa, like I do, gives one an opportunity to work with justice, what with all the injustices around, its critically important to go back to taking care and defending of the poor, weak and the oppressed! The oppresor can be bad governments, poverty, and other evil regimes including Satan himself! Thank you for this blog...
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