Putting God First So His Justice May Eventually Be Yours

“Commit everything you do to the Lord.

Trust him, and he will help you.

He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn,

and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.”

— Psalm 37:5-6 (NLT)

The greatest principle in Scripture in terms of life and justice could well be to put the Kingdom and God’s righteousness first. And that – as an eventual consequence – if we continue to put the Kingdom and God’s righteousness first – then every appropriate blessing will be added at the appropriate time, in the appropriate way. This principle is outlined in Matthew 6:33.

When life is going well we think less of justice, even if it saturates the News media. But, when the flow of life tends south, and there is a real degree of trial and suffering, we notice justice and injustice everywhere.

There is an opportunity, despite it being a difficult one in the midst of injustice, to put the Kingdom and God’s righteousness first. It is never easy. But it is right. We can think it’s easy when we are the ones that don’t have to actually do it. But for the one who must do it, it’s hell.

But hell is passable. Hell is transcendable. Hell is a vapour if we will stand in the mode of God’s will.

The Man In The Arena

The Citizen In A Republic speech of Theodore Roosevelt in Paris in 1910 birthed the poetic inspiration, The Man In The Arena.

The person actually in the arena of their difficulty – trying, risking, failing, succeeding, falling, getting bloodied – is the one who will be blessed by God ultimately. God does not favour the inquisitor or the critic. But God will use the critic and the inquisitor to sharpen up the patience required, and to temper the gentle resolve of the person actually in the arena.

The valiant person, the task done nobly well, and the patience of a humble resolve; all these are necessary in putting the Kingdom and God’s righteousness first. It must seriously be first, without compromise, second-thought, or resentment.

Putting the Kingdom and God’s righteousness first means putting ourselves – in terms of the actual matter of justice we wait for – away from the immediate focus.

We trust God and we do diligently well what we can for the Kingdom and God’s righteousness. We truly do. And that’s trust. When we don’t have to bargain with God, or get angry, or become despondent, we are able to patiently accept that God will always visit justice on all of us, eventually.

Humble obedience has the favour of God.

If we love God by honest devotion, God will prove his love for us is beyond our vain deeds.

It might take years to see this, but it’s the truth.

© 2014 S. J. Wickham.