This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.' ~ Zechariah 7:9-10 (NIV)
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Yesterday, two of my friends and I participated in a rebuilding project for a needy family in South Sacramento, as part of Rebuilding Together Sacramento (rebuildingtogethersacramento.org). WOW! What an awesome blessing it was, and I have the paint splatters, raspberry bush scrapes, and sore muscles to prove it! :-) This family was in great need of many projects inside and outside their home, and about 20-25 people descended on their abode, with the help of our contractor in charge. So many people from all walks of life came to pitch in, using their skills and love to bring hope to a family of twelve that is working to make it in this life. I know they were blessed by our efforts -- the matriarch of the home said it did give them hope to get much-needed help in tackling things that had felt so overwhelming for so long. Praise God! I also met a young woman who said she just really felt like she wanted to help people, instead of just sleeping in on a Saturday, and she talked her friend into coming along! I believe that is God moving in her heart, planting seeds of justice and mercy and compassion for others. I'm hoping she'll contact me, so that she and her friend can pal with us for some other upcoming projects!
God is a God of justice, mercy and compassion. And He wants us to be like Him. So, are we? The people of Israel in Zechariah's day actually asked him to go to God to see if they still needed to fast in the fifth month like tradition had dictated. And God said this:
"Ask all the people of the land and the priests, 'When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves? ~ Zechariah 7:5-6 (NIV)
Ouch. God isn't interested in religious traditions, if our motives are selfish and/or not for Him. Hmm... Is it possible that some or most of our spiritual activity is like this? Do we pray before meals just because that's what Dad did, and Grandpa did? Do we go to church just because that is what the family has done for the last seventy years? Do we give an offering just because they've been "passing the plate" at church since the dawn of time?
God says, Look at your heart -- that's what I'm interested in. Your outward worship of Me is meaningless if your heart isn't loving toward other people, because I love people. I love you. If you receive the love I have for you, yet you don't love others whom I also love, you are a selfish taker and not truly worshiping Me.
Ouch again.
The good news is that no matter how selfish we are, we can be changed. God is so generous with His Holy Spirit, giving us compassion and love and mercy toward others -- if we are willing to be shaped by Him, and for Him. I testified to that power of God in my life -- to give me true compassion for others that I didn't have before, and to show it in tangible ways -- to my new friends, as I grappled alongside them to tackle the raspberry bush monster yesterday. (BTW, the raspberry bush monster was no match for the three of us -- we were victorious -- Huzzah! And the homeowners were so amazed and happy to have part of their yard redeemed again from the invader!)
Thought to ponder: How can you administer justice, mercy and compassion today? Are there the poor, the sick, or the lonely that you could help in some way today? Ask God to give you His heart for people, and He will do it. And then watch out, because He will change your world, and the world around you, and you'll never want to go back to ritualized worship of your God ever again!
Love,
Joelene
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