Tag Archives: Order to Life

Restorative Justice

Living in the Spirit
November 15, 2018

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 10:15-18
And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying,
‘This is the covenant that I will make with them
   after those days, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their hearts,
   and I will write them on their minds’,
he also adds,
‘I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.’
Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

The USA purports to be a nation built on the rule of law. Laws of ourselves, created by ourselves, and for ourselves. Do we follow the laws of our land, and if so why? A friend and I were recently agreeing that there seems to be a trend in our city, of people choosing to run red lights, not entering the cross street even though the light just turned yellow but speeding up to enter the cross street when the light has obviously just turned red. What results is that most of the rest of us have become very cautious about entering the intersection without looking both ways more than once and holding our breath as we move forward. Selfishness has made this rule of law dysfunctional.

The rule of law is designed to be neutral, designed to protect the Common Good. It does not work when selfish bending of it becomes the informal rule. Laws need to be adjusted over time and revisited to determine that they are grounded in the Common Good, but they are necessary to maintain a semblance of order. The quality of any law does not matter if the law’s purpose is not accepted by most citizens.

The writer of Hebrews is acknowledging this truth when he writes that the Lord will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds. Laws become the means of providing order to what we hold as values in our hearts and minds. If I value the lives of my fellow citizens, I choose to follow rules that establish safe processes. This is an extremely simplistic example of the idea of the rule of law, but it is foundational to establishing a world ruled by love.

As my friend and I mused further about our traffic observations, I said, “Perhaps all these cameras we now have could take pictures of the license plates of those running a red light and issues them automatic tickets.” The alternative to a world ruled by love is a punitive rule of laws where attempts are made to provide the necessary order by enforcing punishment on those not following the law. Tickets work to remind people who normally obey laws that they missed one time and they become more careful. Punishment fails to change the lives of those whose only concern is getting caught.

Our job as disciples of Jesus Christ is to provide restorative justice changing hearts and minds as we share God’s love with a wounded world.

Prayer: Lord, as you restore us to wholeness help us restore others to wholeness in your name. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

The Constancy of God

order my lifeEastertide
April 1, 2016

Scripture Reading: Revelation 1:4-8

‘I am the Alpha and the Omega’, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. –Revelation 1:8

The old adage “There is nothing certain but death and taxes” is an incomplete truth at best. God is the only certainty. Once we incorporate that reality into our being, we are freed from the chains of death and, well taxes too, perhaps, I happen to be one of those rare birds who believes paying taxes is one of the responsibilities of being a good citizen. I like to drive on roads, have safe drinking water, have fire and police protection at my call, and know that all my fellow citizens have their basic needs met including health care. While I long for the day when our soldiers are primarily dispatched to provide protection and to intercede in times of disaster, I want them to be adequately paid and supported whenever they are called to duty. Thus I have no problem paying my fair share of taxes.

Trusting in the constancy of God is the key to ordering our lives, getting our priorities straight. Someone sent me a poem recently that listed all the things we routinely see as priorities that have no meaning whatsoever once we die. So why are we investing so much of our lives in them? I have recently spent an inordinate amount of time trying to get my digital life in order. Changing cell phone providers is not for the faint of heart. Hopefully it was time well spent to help me order my life better from this moment forth, I am not sure right now whether it was or wasn’t.

So how do we incorporate God’s constancy into our lives? We do that by making God our Alpha and our Omega, lifting God to the position of first priority and last priority allowing everything else to fall into its proper place.

Prayer: Lord, order my life so that I may thrive as a servant in your kingdom and know the full joy of living in your way and your truth. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.