You’ve heard it said, many times by now. These are unprecedented times.
Truth is, they are in many ways. But it’s also true that these times are exposing things in our life, work, relationships, and goals that might seem unprecedented. Yet, these times aren’t revealing just inward realities. They’ve once again called to our attention the underlying realities of deep injustice amid a time of global health crisis.
Derwin Gray shares about the desire for a deeper justice in his newly released Bible study “The Good Life: What Jesus Teaches about Finding True Happiness” (partially excerpted below):
America is in the middle of a mass shooting epidemic. The past year has been filled with news of sexual abuse that religious leaders were covering up. These leaders were supposed to represent Christ and protect children. When we think about the many homeless men and women sleeping on the streets, children without parents, the thousands of abortions that will happen in one day, and the many other injustices that occur daily in our broken, grieving world, it’s easy to become overwhelmed with the magnitude of the needs.
Perhaps prolific injustice has even led some of us to wonder how there can really be a powerful, loving God if there’s so much ugliness in the world. If you find yourself there today, keep reading. Whether or not you realize it now, your anger, disappointment, and desire for the ugly realities of our broken world to be fixed are a longing for the beauty of God. Consider this question:
How do we know something is unjust unless we believe there’s a standard of justice?
If we long for goodness, beauty, and justice, there must be one who created these things. That Creator must exhibit those things because we can’t give away what we don’t possess. As we yell and shake our fists at all the wrongs in the world, we’re longing for God to make the sad things untrue, to make the ugly beautiful, to heal the hurt.
Read Psalm 33:5 and Amos 5:24.
How do we reflect God’s character when we long for justice?
How does knowing God is righteous and just change the way you feel about the injustice you see around you?
The triune God made creation good, and we messed it up. We introduced death and decay, but God didn’t leave us in our mess; He joined us in our brokenness. He even allowed all the sad things that have happened to us to happen to Him on the cross. His resurrection births a new creation in the heart of the old. The righteousness and justice we long for walked out of a tomb in Jerusalem. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, He wants us to become actors in the divine drama of redemption. We become His agents of redemption.
We can seek to be agents of redemption in a time of brokenness and darkness, even as we rely on Christ to keep transforming the brokenness sin causes inside of us.
Derwin Gray has much more to share about how we hunger and thirst for righteousness as he unpacks the Beatitudes in his new study, partially excerpted above. Engaging with this content will walk you through lamentation, peacemaking, humility, mercy, and more.
Find a free sample and other resources at lifeway.com/thegoodlife as we all strive to better bring glory to Christ during these particularly difficult times.
