Let Justice Roll
My eldest turned 18 this week, which means I’ve been looking through old photos and gathering the most embarrassing ones together for his party! It’s certainly sparked lots of lovely memories, well, for me, anyway. I have especially fond memories of the Kindy years – puzzles, water play, box construction, playdough, circle games, day-time naps. I often wished I could go to Kindy for the day. I also remember the seemingly endless number of paintings that came home each week. They would cover our fridge. We’d use them to wrap gifts, we’d even frame them and give them to grandparents. But there always seemed to be more. And our children would be absolutely heartbroken at the mere thought of throwing away something they’ve made. How could we possibly think of mistreating something so precious!
I wonder if a similar thing has ever happened to you. Perhaps you’ve spent time and energy on making something special for a friend, only to have them disregard it. Maybe you’ve lent something precious to someone, and you never got it back? Or maybe when you did, it was broken or stained? How does that make you feel when someone treats something of yours like it doesn’t matter?
Sadly, I think this happens to God all the time. God made the world and everything and everyone in it. And every person is very precious to Him. He made humans in His own likeness. He breathed His own life into us. We show our respect for God by the way we treat the people He has made. God is greatly saddened when we treat other people poorly, or when we allow other people be treated poorly through our silence or neglect. His heart breaks for the poor and the forgotten.
The Bible often tells us of God’s heart for people, and how we as Christ followers ought to respond to injustice in the world. For example:
“He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honours God.” (Proverbs 14:31)
“Defend the weak and the fatherless: uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.” (Psalm 82:3)
“Let justice roll on like a river, and righteousness like a never-ending stream.” (Amos 5:24)
“And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)
Next term in Kidz Church we’ll be guiding the children through activities and discussions that seek to open their eyes to the plight of children living in third world countries, to impress upon them the great love God has for all children, and to discover ways to respond and bring change for children around the world. Our children will also be actively involved in preparing items for children around the world as part of the Operation Christmas Child shoebox appeal. The next edition of The Quarterly will have lots more information about OCC and how you can be involved.
Do we see people in need as God’s precious children? When we see images of the sick, the lonely, the needy, the forgotten – are our hearts stirred? Do our hearts break for what breaks God’s heart? Let’s together ask God to realign our hearts with His and stir within us a passion for all His children. And as Christ followers, it’s my prayer that the Holy Spirit will empower us to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God all the days of our lives.
