Justice and Jesus

Welcome to today's word of encouragement from Our Daily Bread. The devotional for today titled Justice and Jesus was written by Mart De Haan. In his book, Justice and Jesus, He restored a measure of legal due process and gave his citizens iustitia, a goddess our justice system today refers to as Lady Justice. He also called for a census that brought Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem for the birth of a long-awaited ruler whose greatness would reach to the ends of the earth. What neither Augustus nor the rest of the world could have anticipated is how a far greater king would live and die to show what real justice looks like. Centuries earlier, in the prophet Micah's day, the people of God had once again lapsed into a culture of lies, violence, and ill-gotten treasures. God's dearly loved nation had lost sight of him. He longed for them to show their world what it meant to do right by each other and walk humbly with him. It took a servant king to personify the kind of justice that hurting, forgotten, and helpless people long for. It took the fulfillment of Micah's prophecy in Jesus to see right relationships established between God and people and person to person.

This would not come in the outward enforcement of Caesar-like law and order, but in the freedom of the mercy, goodness, and spirit of our servant king Jesus. Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Micah chapter 6 verses 1 through 8. Listen to what the Lord says.

My people, remember what Balak, king of Moab, plotted and what Balaam, son of Baor, answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord. With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?

Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Now let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus, would you help us to do right by others and everyone you bring into our life? May our every action reflect your presence in our lives and the love you have for the world. Thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen. Thanks so much for listening today. My name is Wes Ward, and today's word of encouragement has been provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.