THE VERSE
If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.~Isaiah 58:10
THE THOUGHT
The concerns of social justice-- things like poverty, AIDS, education, and slavery-- have been getting a lot of press lately, and have become an area of increasing focus in evangelical Christianity. The mainline church long ago made these issues their platform, although their emphasis on social gospel often came at the expense of the true gospel. So what should be the biblical response to the increasing focus on social justice? How should Christians respond to issues like poverty and the AIDS epidemic and modern day slavery, or even things like concern for the environment? It is obvious from Scripture that the poor and marginalized are close to the heart of God, and that He commands His people to take up the cause of the oppressed. But where should these concerns fit in our overall priorities, how do they relate to the cause of Christ in the world, and what should our motivation be?The liberal church and culture has gone wrong by making this an issue of human rights. Human dignity is at stake, of course, but just like everything else in the universe, it's about more than that. Social justice is like everything else-- at its heart, it's about the glory of God. The glory of God is the purpose of our existence and the motivation for our ministry. Isaiah 58:10 gives us God's promise about social justice: pouring ourselves out for the hungry will result in our light rising in the darkness. Listen to how Isaiah describes that dawning just a few chapters later:
"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and His glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising."
May we, as the Church and as individual Christians, embrace the cause of social justice with a passion for the name and renown of Christ burning in our hearts. For with God's glory at the center of our service, we will have a motivation that will outlive all human-centered efforts, a passion that exceeds the most enthusiastic aid worker, and a promise of a glorious kingdom that outshines the most far-reaching vision of secular hope.
THE PRAYER
Dear God, You are the source and goal of everything in the universe; everything was made by You and for You, and I exist for Your glory. Give me a passion for Your renown, so that everything I do can be for this one great purpose: that You may be exalted, and that a knowledge of Your glory may fill the earth like water fills the seas.EXTENDED READING
Isaiah 43:6-21Isaiah 58:6-11
Romans 15:5-9
Romans 11:33-36
THE QUOTE
"We love God by loving our neighbor, and we can love our neighbor only as we love God. The two commandments form a seamless robe." ~Richard FosterTHROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Esther 1Proverbs 15:1-17
Luke 19:11-27
Titus 2:1-10
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