Sunday, March 27, 2011

Seeking The Righteousness Of His Kingdom

Seeking God….To Establish Justice

In today’s reading from Isaiah 42:1-4, God says: I have put My Spirit upon Him.  He will bring forth justice to the nations…”    The passage goes on to say: He will be gentle – He will not shout or raise His voice…(4:2 NLT).

Jesus, reading from Isaiah 62, said: The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, for He has appointed Me to preach Good News to the poor.  He has sent Me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the downtrodden will be freed from the oppressors, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.

He rolled up the scroll and sat down.  Everyone in the synagogue waited, probably for what seemed like an eternity, wondering what he would do next.  Then Jesus stood up and basically said, Oh, and by the way, TODAY this has been fulfilled.

Jesus brought righteousness and justice when he came to earth.  How?  Not by screaming, but by His presence.   We will never change the world; never bring God’s righteousness or justice, by pointing out sin and screaming at people.  Remember, the only ones Jesus condemned were the religious leaders who thought they had it all together and pointed out the sin of the people.  Interestingly, Jesus once criticized the Pharisees saying… you ignore the important things of the Law – justice, mercy and faith (Matthew 23:23).

We NEED to pray for righteousness and justice.  Jesus taught us to pray… Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.  Thy kingdom come, they will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…  That is the place to begin.  Thy kingdom come… in MY life.  May Jesus reign and rule in MY life – TODAY.  Thy will be done… in MY life. 

PRAY for justice, but begin by praying that God will help you live in such a way as to demonstrate and bring justice.   Don’t ignore the more important things of the Law – justice, mercy and faith.  Learn to do good.  Seek justice.  Help the oppressed.  Defend the orphan. Fight for the rights of widows (Isaiah 1:17).

May our prayers be answered – in what people see in us.  May the world see Christ in us.  And may they know that we are Christians by our love.  After all, isn’t that what justice is all about?

Jim Goodrich

The Church on Northland