There are two readings for today.
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 82
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.
Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. [Psalm 82:2-4]
God reveals His heart for the oppressed, and His anger at those who oppress them.
He reminds them that they have been honoured to be called sons and daughters of the living God [Psalm 82:6], but they have not acted like it.
They have been assigned a special calling, to represent God; but by their actions they do not represent God, they represent evil and oppression!
God is love and mercy and grace and compassion and generosity – this is what His image-bearers ought to be like too!
Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ [Matthew 25:37-40]
Jesus picks up on the same theme, but adds a twist.
Here He suggests that those who are oppressed represent God and Jesus.
As those who belong to God, we ought to stand up for the weak and the needy… because they belong to God too, they represent God.
What we do to others, we are doing to God.
God’s purpose is to fill this world once again with His image-bearers, those who represent Him in the world.
As Jesus’ followers, we represent Jesus to the world.
More than that, the people that we love and serve – our neighbours and even our enemies – are also God’s image-bearers; they represent Jesus to us.
Imagine if we looked at every person and treated them as if they were Jesus?
To quote Mother Theresa: ‘The dying, the cripple, the mental, the unwanted, the unloved they are Jesus in disguise.’
What a calling – we are ‘god’s’, children of the Most High, called to image or reflect God in the world, whether rich or poor.
How will I represent God today?
Where will I see Jesus in disguise?
PRAYER:
Lord, I am Your representative, I am ‘Jesus in disguise’. May I honour You by how I live, may I truly reflect Your mercy and love.