“Divine disrupters have a divine mandate—they are called to call out injustice.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – February 8, 2023
But let justice run down like water, And righteousness like a mighty stream. Amos 5:24
A man of the earth, a simple shepherd, Amos, the prophet of God, called out a culture of wealth and selfish indulgence that had drifted away from the Lord’s heart of love and care for the poor. Injustice had become the lake of death, while justice only trickled along a dry creek bed of sinful shame. Righteousness was not only absent but had been replaced by unrighteousness. In Amos’ society, what used to be wrong was now right, and what used to be right was now wrong. Sound familiar? Our modern-day prophets, Billy Graham and Dr. King are in heaven, so who will God raise up to stand up and speak the truth? A culture without a prophet to prick its conscience will morally choke to death from affluence’s overindulgence, as souls suffocate by not inhaling God.
A prophet reminds us that the kings of culture are without clothes…naked of God’s justice, love, and standards of morality. These divine disrupters declare a crisis is at hand…a crisis of faith…a crisis of character…a crisis from the idols of affluence, status, sex, and power, who are the new gods to be worshipped. A crisis of faith…that only places faith in science, self, and scholarship, without the notion of the Creator of all three. Prophets are not popular and many times are discredited and ultimately put to death…though the divine ideas they proclaim…live to carry on.
“Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.” (1 Corinthians 14:1)
Love is the divine lubrication of prophetic language. As Paul reminds us to follow the way of love as we desire, develop and display our God-given gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. If love is not your motivation of heart and mode of behavior, then you are disqualified as noisy, obnoxious, and self-appointed. But when you follow the way of love, hearts are moved toward something or someone bigger than themselves, and minds grasp the logic and common sense of what’s right. Divine disrupters have a divine mandate—they are called to call out injustice.
Has God called you to call out injustice? To use your influence and affluence to make right… what’s gone wrong? A national life without a spiritual life is a sick society, and a church life without transforming lives is just another club or civic group. Love compels followers of Jesus to engage in fierce conversations that provide solutions to economic and educational injustice while, most of all, seeking to unite all who will believe in faith, love, and obedience to Jesus Christ. The soul of society will not thrive without trust in Almighty God and His just agenda. Promote an authentic prophet, be a bold prophet, and above all, model the way of generous love.
Alexander Maclaren, the bold Baptist preacher of the late 19th century, declares, “The man who is over-careful of his skin or reputation will hold his tongue; even good men may become so accustomed to the glaring corruptions of society in the midst of which they have always lived, that they do not feel any call to rebuke or wage war against them; but the brave man, the man who takes his ideals from Christ, and judges society by its conformity with Christ’s standards, will not keep silence, and the more he feels, ‘It is an evil time’ the more will he feel that he cannot but speak out, whatever comes of his protest.” Divine disrupters…prophets, cannot keep quiet!
“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.” (Proverbs 31:8)
Prayer
Heavenly Father, show me the way of love that speaks up for what’s right and who helps those who have been wronged, through Christ’s love, and in Jesus’ name, amen.
Application
Who needs my help for me to be her advocate for justice?
Related Reading
Amos 3:7; Matthew 7:15; 2 Timothy 4:3; 2 Peter 1:21; 1 John 4:1
Worship Resource
Life Church Worship: Go Tell It (This is Amazing Grace)
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