Deuteronomy 16:20 ''Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land the LORD your God is giving you.''
When we feel like we've been done wrong, the seeking of justice is usually not far behind. My friend's two year old daughter was recently asked during family worship time, if there was anything that she wanted prayed for. ''Justice!'' was her reply. ''I asked for a stroller with flowers and I didn't get it.'' That's as hilarious as it is cute. How does a 2yr old even know the word 'justice' and the correct meaning? Law school bound I think.
The second year we lived in IL, we had an apartment in Naperville. One day during the dead of winter, I was home alone. I heard noise from outside our front door and concluded that someone was stealing from our woodpile. I hopped on my scooter, as fast as a turtle can go, and headed out the door for some vigilante justice. Well without a coat on, my pursuit was short lived. As I froze to the core, I thought 'what are you really gona do, if you do catch 'em? This scooter can't even jump the curb.' I went back home and reported the incident to the apartment complex's office. The police did catch the teenage thieves because we weren't their only victims in the complex.
In our self-reliant culture, we tend not to talk to the Lord about things we have under control or think we can handle ourselves. But we are instructed to seek His guidance in all areas (Phil. 4:6) and acknowledge our need of Him. He is just and will take care of all things on our behalf, now or later.
Love your example. I did the same thing when someone was stealing our son's bicycle. Only I briefly caught up with the guy and then didn't know what to do...! We were both shocked!
ReplyDeleteWell I'm not quite sure she's grasped the correct meaning of justice, but she hears it a lot. We have a book called "You Can Change the World" (I think it is put out by Voice of the Martyrs) where we pray for a different country each night. It's written for children, and offers several prayer requests for each country. We usually just pick out one to focus on, but a lot of them talk about justice, so I've tried to explain what it means.
ReplyDeleteWe recently had someone(s) drinking by our back porch (woke up one morning to find a bunch of empty bottles). I've slept with the motion detector on the last few nights (and been woken up everytime our neighborhood racoon walks by) but I was like well what am I going to do if I look out there and see someone? It's not like I'm going to run out there and confront them. And by the time the cops show up they are likely to be long gone. I think tonight I'll leave the sensor off, pray for God's surrounding protection, and sleep in peace :o)
love your comment jessica. youve got the best plan in mind. if we could all think that way, thered be more peace n sleep all around.
ReplyDeletehave a restful nite
cathie n i have the will, just not so much the way..lol
ReplyDelete