Channels of Mercy

Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration.
Most of you reading this will be familiar with that worldview and those terms.
However, it seems that we Christians often get “stuck” in the redemption phase and forget God’s command to be actively restoring his creation! Christ’s Kingdom is here and now, but we still live in the “not yet.” He is still at work restoring his creation to its original purposes…until His second coming!

In Isaiah 58, God chided His people for being outwardly religious but never going beyond their “churchy” things. Notice God’s reprimand in verses 1-3(a)

1 "Shout it aloud, do not hold back.

Raise your voice like a trumpet.

Declare to my people their rebellion

and to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 For day after day they seek me out;

they seem eager to know my ways,

as if they were a nation that does what is right

and has not forsaken the commands of its God.

They ask me for just decisions

and seem eager for God to come near them.
3 'Why have we fasted,' they say,

'and you have not seen it?

Why have we humbled ourselves,

and you have not noticed?'

Yet God is not pleased with their actions…!

3(b) "Yet on the day of your fasting,

you do as you please

and exploit all your workers.
4 Your fasting ends in quarrelling and strife,

and in striking each other with wicked fists.

You cannot fast as you do today

and expect your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,

only a day for a man to humble himself?

Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed

and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?

Is that what you call a fast,

a day acceptable to the LORD?

Instead, he reminds them of his desire for them to show mercy to those around them…to bring about restoration and healing….again, for His sake.

6 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:

to loose the chains of injustice

and untie the cords of the yoke,

to set the oppressed free

and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry

and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—

when you see the naked, to clothe him,

and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;

then your righteousness will go before you,

and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.

It’s kind of like breathing.
Breathe in…right now…deep…keep going...!
Now breathe out….all the way….keep exhaling….
They go together. You can’t do one without the other.

This isn’t a perfect analogy, but breathing in and breathing out is parallel to our Christian walk.
We, the church, the chosen and redeemed, “breathe in” the riches of Christ’s love, forgiveness, and guidance through His Word, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
It should be only natural that we “breathe out” Christ in physical, tangible ways to the world around us!
Both are necessary.

I’m not advocating social justice for the sake of social justice or so we can pride ourselves in what is being accomplished. Those are dangerous, sticky traps. I’m trying to understand how God clearly commanded us to live the gift of salvation as we restore creation (as I mentioned last week) for His worship and His Glory!

How do we fill our time…use our resources…offer our prayers? Are we, the purified, redeemed body of Christ, doing our part and using our blessing to bless? May God give us His mercy and His passion to do that!

(I’d love to have a discussion about this – I feel like I’m just learning little by little what this means. Your comments, corrections, questions, etc are always appreciated and valued!)