Road Warriors: Amos—A Message of Justice - Monday
Amos 5:24
“But let justice roll on like a river…” (NIV)
“What’s justice?” Ask 10 people, and you’ll probably get 10 different answers. I think that’s okay. We should learn from opinions, rather than attack those who share them. But if you asked a room full of Bible scholars to define justice, they would surely talk about helping a few specific groups of people:
Widows
Orphans
Foreigners
The Poor
Biblically speaking, justice always includes (at least) those groups. James went so far as to say, “Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight…” (James 1:27, MSG). Real religion? Yep, that’s what he said.
Question: Does that affect your initial answer? Whatever else James meant, biblical justice is more about what we do than what we say. This past weekend, we learned what Amos said about justice, but in the New Testament, Jesus expands the topic considerably. In Matthew 25, He shares what will happen when He returns one day, His glory finally revealed to all the earth. To some He will say, “I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.”
Incredulously they will ask, “Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?” And He will reply, “When you refused to help the least of these… you were refusing to help me.”
By the way, Matthew 25:40 was Mother Teresa’s favorite verse. A wealthy woman once approached her with an open checkbook and said, “Tell me what I can do to help your ministry; just name the amount.” Mother Teresa replied, “No money.” The woman asked, “Well then, what can I do?” Mother Teresa took her by the hand and led her through an impoverished neighborhood in Calcutta until she found a small, grimy, hungry, child. “Take care of her,” she said. So the woman fed her, bathed and dressed her, and met her many needs. Later she wrote, “That moment changed my life forever.”
Monday’s Reflection
What’s it going to take to change you? Perhaps that’s a more important question than, “What’s it going to take to change the world?” Life’s all about moments, my friend—one at a time. Start there. Think about that.
