Journal Entry ~ 11/11/17

40 he pours contempt on princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes; 41 but he raises up the needy out of affliction and makes their families like flocks.  - Psalm 107:40-41

Verses 33-42 of Psalm 107 remind us that we love a just God. He will take away from those who are evil, and He will bless those who cry out to Him in need. The very fact that He is a just God who judges right and wrong and makes us accountable for our actions gives our lives moral significance. It matters what we do and what we think.

So what does that mean for us?  If there is an all-powerful, all-knowing God who is inherently just and acts as judge over our lives, what does this mean?  It means we will be judged. Our actions, our thoughts, our words, and most importantly, our attitude toward God will ultimately be judged. We have all fallen short of God’s perfect standards, and we must pay the penalty for the many ways we fall short of His standards. 

The beautiful part of the God we love is that He is also a God of mercy, so He has provided a way for us to stand before Him in judgment. He has offered His Son, who died and paid the penalty for our sin so that we can be forgiven. We no longer need to fear judgment for our sins because they are already paid for. 

So what does loving a just God mean for those of us who have been reconciled in Christ?  It means He wants you to be just and act justly. We read in Micah 6:8 “What does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly before your God?” God doesn’t just want you to love justice, He wants you to DO justice. He expects us to get out there and be His hands and feet, bringing His justice to a broken world. Repeatedly throughout Scripture, God instructs His people to treat others fairly, especially those in less fortunate situations, such as widows, orphans, the poor, and even strangers. Jesus’ teachings take justice further, telling us to love one another and to do good even to those who mistreat us. 

It’s hard to do justice - it’s much easier to love justice, isn’t it? Let’s be real, most of us would rather rant about the injustice of the world rather than taking any meaningful action to stop it. Ranting about injustice costs us nothing. Doing justice makes it personal; it costs us something. Doing justice requires that we roll up our sleeves and get involved where a wrong has happened. It requires we get vulnerable and love people who are oppressed in a way that costs us something personally. Most of us don’t get involved in this way because it takes time and energy we simply don’t have because we’re too busy managing our own lives. But make no mistake about it - in this life, God expects us to make justice concrete with our actions. 

So when we stand before our just God and look back on our life someday, we know that our sins are blotted out. As a believer in Christ, He does not see our sins, but what He will be looking at is how we brought justice to others. Did we do justice?  How were we His hands and feet to those in need?  Remember The Parable of the Talents? It’s the story of a master who assesses the stewardship of his servants by giving them each talents according to their gifts. He evaluates them according to how faithful each was in obtaining a profit on what they have been given.  He judges how they handled their stewardship. This story isn’t about money, it’s about what we do for the Kingdom with our lives. He judges the two servants who return a profit as faithful, and casts out the one who does not return a profit in the the outer darkness. That should serve as a humble reminder to us all that God does not take His instruction for us to DO justice lightly. We will not be judged for our sins when we stand before our just God, we will be judged for how we were His hands and feet while we are here on earth. 

As I have this time to reflect on what the priorities of my life have been up until this point, I would have to humbly bow my head and say I haven’t always been His hands and feet where I know He has called me. Much of my energy has been spent on what I value as important, over what He values. I want to be a person who brings His justice to an unjust world. 

Press on ~ you are loved 💗

Many of you know I have been trying to raise money to replace the uncomfortable caregiver's chairs in the infusion center at Illinois Cancer Specialists.  It is important to me that our caregivers are able to sit comfortably for hours while we receive our chemo treatments ~ we need our caregivers to be at their best so they can care for us at our worst.  Please consider donating ~ every little bit helps!  Here is the link:


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

My Journey Begins...

Medical Update ~ 09/27/17

Grace in Marriage