Living in the Spirit
November 19, 2018
Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 23:1-7
The spirit of the Lord speaks through me,
his word is upon my tongue.
The God of Israel has spoken,
the Rock of Israel has said to me:
One who rules over people justly,
ruling in the fear of God,
is like the light of morning,
like the sun rising on a cloudless morning,
gleaming from the rain on the grassy land. –2 Samuel 23:2-4
These words are the bases of one of my favorite anthems, The Last Words of David*, and I cannot read them without the music playing in my head accompanying the words. The scripture is so meaningful to me because justice becomes more the center of my existence as I grow older and hopefully wiser.
The word justice tends to be claimed by the secular view related to government. Faith groups tend to lean more toward the word righteousness. Perhaps that is a good thing, even though they mean the same thing. Good because it forces people of faith to consider what God’s righteousness has to do with defining our citizenship responsibilities. People of the USA may think we have a corner on the separation of church and state but people living in societies with all types of governments must intentionally consider how to live their faith wherever they find themselves.
In some situations. I fear we use scripture to justify uncomplimentary realities. Weighing justice as we read the Bible is the challenge of discerning God among the human understandings of God in history through the filters of our lives. I trust that when we intentionally drop our guard as we study, God’s righteousness will shine through when we seek it through the clear lenses of God’s love.
How can we read throughout the Bible the words welcome the stranger and reject refugees? How can we answer the call to feed the hungry and not work for all to earn a living wage? How can we read Galatians 3:28, There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus and openly discriminate against people different from us?
Prayer: Lord, enable us to rule over people justly in the fear of God. Amen.
*The Last Words of David by Randall Thompson – E.C. Schirmer Music Co., learn more at https://www.jwpepper.com/The-Last-Words-of-David/341016.item#/submit