Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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 The Proclamation and Acts of the Kingdom of God

Bible portion: Amos 7:12-17

V17"Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be measured and divided up, and you yourself will die in a pagan country. And Israel will surely go into exile, away from their native land."

Devotion
Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come." (Mark 4:26-29)
Amos proclaims God’s justice and righteousness as inseparable components of God’s commandment. He criticizes the social, political, and religious structures of Israel for their failure to uphold ethical responsibility. In particular, the prophet condemns the social inequity that allows the wealthy to luxuriate while the poor suffer. Amos explicitly warns of the destruction that is going to come upon the people of Israel (v. 17).
In our contemporary understanding, we often conceive of social justice and piety as distinct practices. However, in Amos’ vision, there is no such division. The foundation of justice is the right worship of God, and worshiping God rightly requires promoting justice in the world.
These images of judgment and destruction in the Old Testament often leave contemporary readers pondering what kind of message this might be for our time and place. We prefer a message of uncompromising mercy. Yet God’s love and God’s judgment are not mutually exclusive. God’s mercies are meaningless without God’s justice.
Jesus has sent us out to proclaim the kingdom of God. We have the responsibility and privilege of inviting people to live under God’s authority in every part of life. As we proclaim this message, we live it, acknowledging God’s reign over all of our lives. We have been filled with the power of the Holy Spirit so that we also might "proclaim the kingdom of God."
PRAYER
 
Help us, Lord, to understand your kingdom, to proclaim it, and to live it. May we bring every facet of our lives under your authority. May we seek first your kingdom and righteousness in all that we do and say. To you be the glory! Amen.
Thought for the Day 
 
Unless we proclaim the acts of the Kingdom of God, we are not doing social justice, which is God’s justice.
 
Lal Varghese, Esq.
MTC Dallas, Farmers Branch
 

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