I've spent a lot of time this week on the theme of social justice as it relates to and is in reality kingdom justice. I would like to close out this week by sharing the model for social/kingdom justice: Jesus Himself.
Reading through the book of Mark in my morning devotions, I was once again struck at the life and ministry of Christ. I was amazed, once again, like the people of Judea, at seeing that He, Jesus, "does everything well." (Mark 7:37) If He is the complete God-Man then He, above all, would be the model of God's plan and purpose, in short His Kingdom, here on earth. So, what are the major things we see Jesus "doing well" in Mark's gospel?
* He was never too busy to stop and meet needs. When He was tired, when He was traveling, even on the road to Calvary, He always had time for those in need. Compassion incarnate.
* He touched people where they hurt. He physically touched the eyes of the blind and restored their sight. He placed his fingers in the ears of the deaf so that they could hear. He took the hand of the sick and dying and restored health and life. And He also spoke a word of authority and "touched" the hearts and minds of the demon possessed.
* He taught and proclaimed truth. In many places His "compassion" to the crowds was the teaching of truth that He had to share with them (Mark 6:34). In other situations it was the correction of incorrect beliefs especially those of the hypocrites of the day. We often only think of Jesus' compassion demonstrated in his healing ministry but there was a great compassion behind His proclamation of the Kingdom and the gospel.
* He was in constant contact and conversation with God the Father. He withdrew to spend time and renew His focus. He carried on dialogue with God even in the midst of the multitudes. He live a 360 degree awareness of moving, living, being and acting within the Father's presence.
* He established a whole new set of Kingdom values and truths that still befuddle us today: The first shall be last, the greatest is the least, the weak shall be strong, the master is really the servant, etc.
So, forgive me but I am a bit skeptical. When a follower of Jesus simply stops at feeding the hungry, giving help to the poor, advocating against human trafficking, etc., they miss the whole picture of what Christ, our social/Kingdom justice model came to do and establish. Conversely, when the church or evangelist stops at evangelism, they do the same.
Wouldn't it be great if people looked at us, the church today, and say, "...they do everything well!" And they would say this not because of us but because they have seen the glory and the justice of God's Kingdom in us!
Need a model for social/Kingdom justice? Jesus...
God bless...
Reading through the book of Mark in my morning devotions, I was once again struck at the life and ministry of Christ. I was amazed, once again, like the people of Judea, at seeing that He, Jesus, "does everything well." (Mark 7:37) If He is the complete God-Man then He, above all, would be the model of God's plan and purpose, in short His Kingdom, here on earth. So, what are the major things we see Jesus "doing well" in Mark's gospel?
* He was never too busy to stop and meet needs. When He was tired, when He was traveling, even on the road to Calvary, He always had time for those in need. Compassion incarnate.
* He touched people where they hurt. He physically touched the eyes of the blind and restored their sight. He placed his fingers in the ears of the deaf so that they could hear. He took the hand of the sick and dying and restored health and life. And He also spoke a word of authority and "touched" the hearts and minds of the demon possessed.
* He taught and proclaimed truth. In many places His "compassion" to the crowds was the teaching of truth that He had to share with them (Mark 6:34). In other situations it was the correction of incorrect beliefs especially those of the hypocrites of the day. We often only think of Jesus' compassion demonstrated in his healing ministry but there was a great compassion behind His proclamation of the Kingdom and the gospel.
* He was in constant contact and conversation with God the Father. He withdrew to spend time and renew His focus. He carried on dialogue with God even in the midst of the multitudes. He live a 360 degree awareness of moving, living, being and acting within the Father's presence.
* He established a whole new set of Kingdom values and truths that still befuddle us today: The first shall be last, the greatest is the least, the weak shall be strong, the master is really the servant, etc.
So, forgive me but I am a bit skeptical. When a follower of Jesus simply stops at feeding the hungry, giving help to the poor, advocating against human trafficking, etc., they miss the whole picture of what Christ, our social/Kingdom justice model came to do and establish. Conversely, when the church or evangelist stops at evangelism, they do the same.
Wouldn't it be great if people looked at us, the church today, and say, "...they do everything well!" And they would say this not because of us but because they have seen the glory and the justice of God's Kingdom in us!
Need a model for social/Kingdom justice? Jesus...
God bless...
a 360 degree awareness of moving, living, being and acting within the Father's presence .. action without evangelism .. not enough .. evangelism without action .. not enough .. doing it all to "do it well" .. that was a very powerful and poignant clarifiction and summary of your views .. wow .. read it three times .. the "360 degree" metaphor was just brilliant ..
ReplyDeleteIan, thanks again for the comments. The 360 degree metaphor is one that I have borrowed from Richard Foster's, "A Celebration of Discpline". He describes it much better. Thanks!
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