Hearing His Voice #187

He will proclaim justice to the nations.

Matthew 12:18

We live in an age of personalized Christianity, in which each person has his or her own relationship with God, and the individual is paramount. When we speak of Jesus’ relationship with social structures, it’s most often in terms of the church. That’s because the church is His body, and we assume everything else is “secular” or “worldly” and beyond His focus. We’re well acquainted with the fact that He sends us into nations in order to share the Good News with people everywhere—individuals again—but we forget how often God thinks in terms of entire nations in Scripture. And we also forget that He is interested not only in evangelism but also in justice.

Though modern evangelical Christians have an aversion to “social gospel” movements of the past—and it’s true that the gospel can’t be reduced simply to social improvement—Jesus nevertheless is zealous about the welfare of society. Injustices bother Him. He is always seeking those on the margins of society who need help. His Kingdom will do away with national policies that fuel gross inequities. He wants His creation to be spiritually, emotionally, psychologically, physically, and materially whole.

We can expect God’s voice to speak to us about injustices wherever we live and work. If His heart is for those who are oppressed and disadvantaged, His followers will be moved to do something for them. He will not tell us, “Don’t worry about that; I’ll set everything right when I come.” He’s much more likely to say, “Before I come for you, I’m going to come through you.” We are meant to reflect His heart in this world. And reflecting His heart means we will seek justice for the nations.

Jesus, if You proclaim justice to the nations, I need to proclaim it too. If this is part of Your message, I need to hear it and then live it. Help me align my life with the truth of Your agenda in this world.