5-24-2019

  Good Morning All,

   Micah 6:8; “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"

    As you read the news, it seems everyone wants “justice” to be done.  We want justice in our court trials; we want justice in our tax laws; we want justice in the way distributions occur; we want everything to be just and fair.  While it may seem to be a new idea that “enlightened” man desires; it is as old as mankind itself.  It goes all the way back to Adam and Eve and the beginning of sin.  Justice failed when sin prevailed.

    If you take the time to look at the first chapters of Genesis, you see a developing story that has its beginning in sin and the fall of man in chapter three and then the next eight chapters really develop the depravity of mankind.  We see a growing desire by man to exploit, dominate, and usurp one another.  The idea of justice degrades into one of “my might- my justice.”  We see the weak, the young, the under-privileged, the sick and the lost being used then cast aside with little, if any, concern or compassion.

    Yet our God is a God of justice.  We should see justice as acting in accordance with God’s will.  We should see justice as equity, parity or some sense of equal distribution and treatment.  It is what many people, especially the mistreated desire and if we continue our reading of Genesis, we see in chapter twelve where God re-introduces the idea of justice to mankind in the form of the covenant with Abram (Abraham).  In the covenant, God tells Abram that he will be a blessing to the nations.  One way this is to occur is that the nation that Abram is to father is to be a nation which is holy, separate from the other nations.  This nation is to offer justice.  It is not to show preferential treatment to the rich or the poor but justice.  It is not to allow the exploitation of the weak or poor but it is to ensure that justice prevails.

    This is one of the outward signs of Israel’s unfaithfulness, like in our verse, the Israel does not do justice but rather it cheats the widows and abuses the orphans and the sojourners in their land.  God called upon his chosen people to be sure that justice occurred; when, through unfaithfulness, it failed; it was replaced.  God replaced the children of Israel with a new covenant family: The Church.

    So, now we are to be the bearers of God’s will; we are to execute justice.  We are not there yet we continue to strive for it.  We miss at times but we continue to seek to bring about God’s will; we desire justice for all people.  We know that perfect justice will only occur with the return of Jesus yet we continue to strive to follow God’s will; we seek justice for all people according to God’s design.

Gracious Father, only in you do we find justice and we ask that you guide us by your mercy to do justice.  Lead us to seek out oppression and injustice and bring to light that justice may prevail.  Give patience to those who are experiencing injustice and wisdom to those who may make it right.  In the precious name of Jesus, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret