Reflections on JusticeSample

‘Religion stinks, but the gospel is a blast.’ This was the slogan for an evangelistic campaign in the summer of 2000. Christians were the most shocked.

Are we still good examples? Does our religion make people envious? Two thousand years ago, James wrote of the importance of holding one’s tongue. Unfortunately, none of us are protected from this ‘stinking’ reality, which involves conflicts and disputes to keep one’s place or power.

But if we allow ourselves to be touched by God’s love, we can live out the verbs proposed in the various versions of James 1:27: to rescue, to help, to care, to look after, to visit, to reach out. That’s why this gospel is a blast!

I know these verbs well. As a mother, they’re ingrained in me, and I use them happily and without constraint! Rescue, help, care. Look after, visit, reach out.

Challenge: Share the gospel like a meal that someone is in desperate need of. Even if, at first glance, it seems repulsive or uncertain, God’s love is a blast if it’s shared.

Prayer: Lord, help me to live out your values of love for others beyond duty or expectation and share them.