"Justice
And Mercy And Faith"
"But woe to you, blind guides, who
say, 'Whoever swears by the sanctuary is bound by nothing, but whoever swears
by the gold of the sanctuary is bound by the oath.' You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the sanctuary that has made the
gold sacred? And you say, 'Whoever swears by the altar is bound by
nothing, but whoever swears by the gift that is on the altar is bound by the
oath.' How blind you are! For which is greater, the gift or
the altar that makes the gift sacred? So whoever swears by the altar,
swears by it and by everything on it; and whoever swears by the sanctuary,
swears by it and by the one who dwells in it; and whoever swears by heaven,
swears by the throne of God and by the one who is seated upon it."
"Woe to you,
scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the
law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced
without neglecting the others. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but
swallow a camel!"
Matthew 23:13-23
Having a personal faith in Christ comes
with responsibilities and obligations. Do not restrict His sovereignty in
everything that your life entails. What do we imply about our Savior when we
seek God's will about moving to another city or who we marry, but never seek
His mind on the plight of the homeless, the rights of the unborn, or racial
equality? Cultivating the inner life, vital as it may be, without struggling
with social issues is too limited and too soft. We must think about how Christ
wants us to respond to the unjust situations in our community and the world at
large.
On the other hand, to emphasize social
concerns without stressing devotion to the LORD resembles dancing on one foot.
If we are deeply committed to a cause but not deeply committed to Christ, we
may trade away the power of God for the power of politics. One measure of our
likeness to Christ is our sensitivity to the suffering of others.
Our
Daily Bread -