Act JustlySample

God is just

Grace looked at her beautiful newborn boy, Anthony. Then she saw a cyst, about the size of a baseball, attached to Anthony’s lower back. Grace’s husband wanted to put the baby up for adoption. But Grace trusted God. Someone at the hospital said that the ‘Mercy Ship’ could help. Grace took the baby to the 'Africa Mercy', and Dr. Bruce Steffes performed a free surgery for five-day-old Anthony. Grace told her husband, “See what God can do? See my fine baby you wanted to give away?” 

In western countries Anthony’s condition would have been dealt with early, but the health system in our world is not balanced or just. Just 1 in 3 people on our planet have access to safe, affordable surgery when they need it.  This is a global injustice!

But we know that our God is just! Justice is part of God’s character. In our passage today, Isaiah states that God is a God of justice who also shows compassion, these two aspects of God’s character flow together. He is loving and compassionate but also demands justice. Especially justice for the poor or oppressed.

God hears the cry of those who are oppressed and the downtrodden, and because of His compassion He acts. God’s response to the cries of the oppressed ultimately led Him to send His only Son to die, to show ultimate love and to see ultimate justice done. Our God calls us to follow him, to respond to the cries of those oppressed, even if this carries a cost. One day, there will be complete justice in the new heaven and new earth, but until Jesus’s return we are called to pray “your Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven” and to act in a way that brings His Kingdom here on earth – with acts of mercy, love, compassion and grace. We are called to reflect the character of God as Christians.

Sometimes not knowing how to act can paralyse us. Over the next 5 days we will look at a number of passages that contain deep, Godly wisdom on how we can break the deadlock and act justly.

Call to action - In what way is God’s justice reflected in your decisions and your actions? How do the cries of the oppressed and poor reach and affect you?  Do you feel grief, indifference, overwhelmed, or moved with compassion to act in light of injustice?