Pray for Law and Justice
Pray for Law and Justice
https://prayerstrategy.org/pray-for-law-and-justice/
Law and Justice – May 2019
(By Lilian Schmid, reviewed by Prof. Michael Adams and Bjorn Schmid)
Introduction
The Authority to Judge “For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son . . . and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man . . . because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead” (Jn. 5:22, 27; Acts 17:31).
Seek justice on behalf of others or help make the world a safer place. From criminology and terrorism to commercial law, investigate reasons that motivate people to commit crimes, assess rehabilitation or examine the criminal justice system.
Law and Social Justice
Zechariah 7:9 and Micah 6:8 seem to be the interpretive grid by which Jesus understands the Law and the Prophets. In Matthew 23:23 he alludes to these two passages and calls them “the more weightier matters of the Law”. He has shown you O humanity, or historically demonstrated to you, what the Lord requires, do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with your God”.
Remembering that justice is not vengeance rather it is restoring what is right. Righteousness and justice share the same stem in both Greek and Hebrew. Justice is social righteousness and “justice is what love looks like in public,” says Cornel West.
It seems to me that if you were to ask the average Australian whether the church is achieving this they might say, “Well you pray, go to church and read your bible so I guess you are walking with God. You have institutionalized mercy, set up charitable organisations like the Salvation Army, Anglicare, Baptist Care and Uniting Care and you pay others to care on your behalf so you are vicariously showing mercy. Yet I don’t see many Christians standing in solidarity with the poor and marginalized, with refugees and advocating justice, being willing to go to jail or get killed for doing what is right and just”.
God is merciful, God is just, God is humble it is not a program he does, He is. It’s part of His being. I think if the church was to reflect the heart of God, we may need to go to the poor and marginalized; listen and understand their concerns and as we did this would enliven our relationship with God. Like yeast that works it’s way through dough and changes both components into bread, so too we will be transformed and our communities will be changed as we love mercy.
Lastly, as we attempt at loving those that need mercy we will ask the question of why they are poor or why is there injustice in the first place.
This will end up either in us advocating on their behalf or empowering them to advocate and stand up for justice themselves.
These three things mercy, justice and walking in humility with God are symbiotic. They are the D.N.A. of the mustard seed of God’s Kingdom. If we go to the least, last and lost and sow these seeds of love, they will supplant darkness, injustice and inequality.
For “the best critique of the bad is the practice of the better,” Rene Girard.
Steve McKinnon, TEAR Australia – www.tear.org.au
TEAR Australia is a Christian Aid, Development and Advocacy Organisation.
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