Justice
Today on the bus, God placed a thought in my mind to read the Daily Bread (which I keep in my bag to read, along with the Bible, when I need to). One thing that caught my mind was the section on "Dying for Justice" on Friday February 20th.
The story goes like this -
When Presbyterian clergyman Elijah Lovejoy (1802 - 1837 ... yes he died when he was 25 ... pretty young if you ask me) left the pulpit, he returned to the printing presses in order to reach more people. After witnessing a lynching, Lovejoy committed to fighting the injustice of slavery. His life was threatened by hateful mobs, but this did not stop him: "If by compromise is meant that I should cease from my duty, I cannot make it. I fear God more than I fear man. Crush me if you will, but I shall die at my post." Four days after these words, he was killed at the hands of another angry mob.
The Daily Bread further stated this -
Concern about justice for the oppressed is evident throughout Scripture. It was especially clear when God established the rules for His covenant people after they were released from Egyptian bondage (Deuteronomy 24 : 18-22). Moses emphasized concern for the underprivileged (Exodus 22:22-27; 23:6-9; Leviiticus 19:9-10). Repeatedly, the Israelites were reminded that they had been slaves in Egypt and should deal justly with the underprivileged in their community. They were to love strangers ("aliens") because God loves them, and the Israelites had themselves been aliens in Egypt (Exodus 23:9; Leviticus 19:34; Deuteronomy 10:17-19). God desires that His people affirm the supreme worth of every individual by fighting against injustice.
I would like to add that this does have many implications in my life. In school, all of us have definitely heard of the term "uncool" or perhaps those outcasts rejected by society. Some may have been outcasts based on following God's word, others may have simply been outcasts based on weird behaviour. Whatever the case, we must remember that God said in Deuteronomy 17 - 18 "Do not deprive the alien or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you from there."
I know most of us aren't Israelites, but the meaning of it is there, God commands us to show love to everyone for He loves us to. We ourselves are all outcasts from heaven. Why? Firstly, we must remember that heaven is PERFECT. When we sin, we are IMPERFECT, and thus we tarnish the perfectness of heaven if we enter. Yes, we all sin, and if we say that we don't, we've just committed another sin of lying. We are all outcasts ...
What did God do? He Himself came down in the form of Jesus Christ, a manifestation of God as a human being. He became an outcast of heaven in order to live with us outcasts. He came from heaven to earth to show the way. In the process of doing that, Jesus became an outcast on this earth too. So much so that we crucify Him for our debts to pay (Do note that when we sin, we deem His ways uncool by rejecting Him and further contribute to crucifying Him on the cross).
As children of God, we should be mini Christs show the love that God showed us to everyone else, including who we deem as outcasts. Even if it means becoming outcasts. His disciples became outcasts on earth as well by following Jesus. Remember they were persecuted. Let me quote from my previous post "Proving the Resurrection" : "One of the points worth mentioning will be the conviction of the disciples. Their faith being so strong that they would even die for what they believe in. People may say "oh my gosh those guys are crazy...they must be lying!". It would've been very easy for Peter to deny Christ again like he did 3 times before. All 11 of the 12 disciples were killed for what they believed in."
To put it simply, perhaps we could see those prejudiced by society as what they really are than what they appear to be. Maybe someone appears to us as overly aggressive, but what he really needs is a friend ... be that friend! Standing for justice means fighting against injustice.
In doing all these, we may become outcasts too. We may get insulted and made fun of. But hey, what's a little pain (Matthew 5:11-12 states "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.) as compared to being crucified on the cross? What's an insignificant loss when it allows us to get closer to God (Which is our true purpose in life) ?
In doing all these, we could be rejected by those we try to help. We may find that we are just wasting our time and that they can't be helped. But hey, God actually DIED to help us when we were unwilling to receive His help (we reject Him time after time and He even got crucified!).
A few things to reflect on
- Have I shown God's love (defined in 1 Corinthians 13) to everyone I know, even those I deem to be undeserving (those who wrong us? those outcasts?) of it?
- Have I stood for justice in the face of the pressures (being popular? being cool? having a good reputation?) of society?
- Have I given up my own wants (popularity?) for what I truly need (God)?
- Have I truly suffered for the righteousness of God?
Now I would like to pray this prayer. You may join me if you like.
"Open my eyes, Lord, to people around me,
Help me to see them as You do above;
Give me the wisdom and strength to take action
So others may see the depth of Your Love."
As always, do feel free to use my tagboard for any clarifications :D
Today on the bus, God placed a thought in my mind to read the Daily Bread (which I keep in my bag to read, along with the Bible, when I need to). One thing that caught my mind was the section on "Dying for Justice" on Friday February 20th.
The story goes like this -
When Presbyterian clergyman Elijah Lovejoy (1802 - 1837 ... yes he died when he was 25 ... pretty young if you ask me) left the pulpit, he returned to the printing presses in order to reach more people. After witnessing a lynching, Lovejoy committed to fighting the injustice of slavery. His life was threatened by hateful mobs, but this did not stop him: "If by compromise is meant that I should cease from my duty, I cannot make it. I fear God more than I fear man. Crush me if you will, but I shall die at my post." Four days after these words, he was killed at the hands of another angry mob.
The Daily Bread further stated this -
Concern about justice for the oppressed is evident throughout Scripture. It was especially clear when God established the rules for His covenant people after they were released from Egyptian bondage (Deuteronomy 24 : 18-22). Moses emphasized concern for the underprivileged (Exodus 22:22-27; 23:6-9; Leviiticus 19:9-10). Repeatedly, the Israelites were reminded that they had been slaves in Egypt and should deal justly with the underprivileged in their community. They were to love strangers ("aliens") because God loves them, and the Israelites had themselves been aliens in Egypt (Exodus 23:9; Leviticus 19:34; Deuteronomy 10:17-19). God desires that His people affirm the supreme worth of every individual by fighting against injustice.
I would like to add that this does have many implications in my life. In school, all of us have definitely heard of the term "uncool" or perhaps those outcasts rejected by society. Some may have been outcasts based on following God's word, others may have simply been outcasts based on weird behaviour. Whatever the case, we must remember that God said in Deuteronomy 17 - 18 "Do not deprive the alien or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you from there."
I know most of us aren't Israelites, but the meaning of it is there, God commands us to show love to everyone for He loves us to. We ourselves are all outcasts from heaven. Why? Firstly, we must remember that heaven is PERFECT. When we sin, we are IMPERFECT, and thus we tarnish the perfectness of heaven if we enter. Yes, we all sin, and if we say that we don't, we've just committed another sin of lying. We are all outcasts ...
What did God do? He Himself came down in the form of Jesus Christ, a manifestation of God as a human being. He became an outcast of heaven in order to live with us outcasts. He came from heaven to earth to show the way. In the process of doing that, Jesus became an outcast on this earth too. So much so that we crucify Him for our debts to pay (Do note that when we sin, we deem His ways uncool by rejecting Him and further contribute to crucifying Him on the cross).
As children of God, we should be mini Christs show the love that God showed us to everyone else, including who we deem as outcasts. Even if it means becoming outcasts. His disciples became outcasts on earth as well by following Jesus. Remember they were persecuted. Let me quote from my previous post "Proving the Resurrection" : "One of the points worth mentioning will be the conviction of the disciples. Their faith being so strong that they would even die for what they believe in. People may say "oh my gosh those guys are crazy...they must be lying!". It would've been very easy for Peter to deny Christ again like he did 3 times before. All 11 of the 12 disciples were killed for what they believed in."
To put it simply, perhaps we could see those prejudiced by society as what they really are than what they appear to be. Maybe someone appears to us as overly aggressive, but what he really needs is a friend ... be that friend! Standing for justice means fighting against injustice.
In doing all these, we may become outcasts too. We may get insulted and made fun of. But hey, what's a little pain (Matthew 5:11-12 states "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.) as compared to being crucified on the cross? What's an insignificant loss when it allows us to get closer to God (Which is our true purpose in life) ?
In doing all these, we could be rejected by those we try to help. We may find that we are just wasting our time and that they can't be helped. But hey, God actually DIED to help us when we were unwilling to receive His help (we reject Him time after time and He even got crucified!).
A few things to reflect on
- Have I shown God's love (defined in 1 Corinthians 13) to everyone I know, even those I deem to be undeserving (those who wrong us? those outcasts?) of it?
- Have I stood for justice in the face of the pressures (being popular? being cool? having a good reputation?) of society?
- Have I given up my own wants (popularity?) for what I truly need (God)?
- Have I truly suffered for the righteousness of God?
Now I would like to pray this prayer. You may join me if you like.
"Open my eyes, Lord, to people around me,
Help me to see them as You do above;
Give me the wisdom and strength to take action
So others may see the depth of Your Love."
As always, do feel free to use my tagboard for any clarifications :D
posted by The Phantom Novelist at
1:05 pm
0 Comments
