Live JustlySample

What is Biblical Justice?

When Jesus gave the Great Commission, He called all who follow Him to go and make disciples. For us, that means mission is not the responsibility and privilege of a small group who feel called to the mission field. It’s the responsibility of all members, since all of Christ’s followers are members of the royal priesthood, and as such have been called by God, that they may declare the praises of Him who called them out of darkness into His wonderful light. Understood in these terms, this new paradigm for mission is not so new; it is, rather, the recovery of the biblical concept of mission. 

Justice isn’t always about doing something new; it’s about aligning what we already do with Kingdom values. We wake up every day and make about fifty decisions. We decide what clothes to wear, what food to eat, how to commute to work or school, how to treat our friends, family, and strangers, what to pray for, where to invest our money, and so on. 

We will not reduce justice to simply an activity, it is a lifestyle. We will not sacrifice the dignity of people living in oppression for the sake of inspiring action.  Our prayer is that our everyday actions will be infused with justice— not our definition of justice but God’s revelation of justice in Scripture. 

Justice is part of the character and nature of God, and to live justly, we must encounter God in a personal and powerful way.      

“It’s not just about doing justice, this journey is also about allowing the work of justice to change us. In other words, we not only seek justice as we follow Jesus, but we seek to live justly. Our calling is not simply to change the world but perhaps as important, our calling is to be changed ourselves.”  -Eugene Cho 

Prayer

Lord, give me eyes to see the structures and systems that perpetuate injustice. Help me also to see the immediate needs of the oppressed, and may I never seek justice at the expense of being charitable. Make me an instrument of Your kingdom. Help me to be missional even when it is uncomfortable. Help me to challenge the economic, political and social systems of our world that are in need of redemption. Help me to bravely proclaim the gospel to my neighbors, near and far, and may many come to know and follow You.