The Greatness of Godਨਮੂਨਾ

Justice and Prayer

This passage from Micah is peppered with verbs, the word ‘justice’ perhaps the most fraught. It has the potential to provoke a visceral response in us because of the countless stories of injustice we are bombarded with every time we open our News Apps. Scanning the headlines can provoke questions like, ‘How could they let this happen?’ or ‘Am I doing enough?’ Before we board those trains of thought and reactively run into action, let’s pause and take note of how this passage starts:

‘We have been shown...’

There is a strong link between Biblical definitions of righteousness and justice. If righteousness is keeping right relationships with God and others, then it could be said that injustice is when we violate that. When we treat others in ways that place them below us. This can come in all forms, in words or deeds, institutionally, or systemically. Since all people are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), when we treat the ‘other’ without love, we treat God without love, too.

In fact, we did do this to Jesus, on the cross. The cross is the climax of all the ways we have treated others unjustly. We stand in the palace with the soldiers mocking Jesus and crowning Him with thorns (Mark 15:16-20). Yet we also stand in the palace and flinch at every strike on His body, because we too have felt the searing pain of being treated unjustly.

The cross is where the persecuted and the perpetrator meet. It is easy to think of individuals who fit those categories in our lives or in our generation. Yet these two personas are not mutually exclusive; they co-exist in each one of us. As it says in Romans 3:23 (NIV), ‘all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’

When we arrive at the cross, we come with a hammer in one hand and bleeding wounds in the other. The cross is not just the meeting point but the turning point because Jesus’ death is only half the story. The power of His resurrection is the restorative force that not only breaks the cycle of injustice but transforms it to a place of life.

Today, we come to Jesus and exchange our hammers that inflict pain, for bandages to bind up those in pain. We come to Him to receive the healing of wounds inflicted by others, transforming them into a place of strength and a testimony of God’s resurrection power.

Pause and reflect

In stillness, we come humbly to God and acknowledge the situations in our lives where we have participated in injustice. Take some time to repent and confess.

Pause and pray

Now having received forgiveness, let’s pray with mercy and in the resurrection power of the Spirit for those leading our nations. That they may also be empowered to do the same, to offer humble leadership, to make decisions that bring societal justice and offer mercy to the ‘other’ nations around them, to see life restored and all people treated with dignity and love.

Pause and pray