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Middle East: An Existential Threat

"Silence in the face of evil is itself evil; God will not hold us guitless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act" Deitrich Bonhoeffer

"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God" Micah 6:8

John Piper wrote, “On the far side of risk…..the love of God triumphs. This is the faith that frees us to risk for the cause of God. It is not heroism, or lust for adventure, or courageous self-reliance, or efforts to earn God’s favor. It is child-like faith in the triumph of God’s love – that on the other side of all our risks, for the sake of righteousness, God will still be holding us. We will be eternally satisfied in Him. Nothing will have been wasted.”

Micah, a prophet of the Old Testament, courageously wrote and spoke to the divided nation of Israel and Judah--the very people who were to represent the reality of a covenant-loving, compassionate, and just God. Instead, their character as a nation was selfish, dishonest, and oppressive. To make matters worse, the people thought they could earn or buy God's approval and forgiveness through empty, meaningless offerings (vs. 7-8)--from sacrificing a few calves, or thousands of rams, or even offering up their own firstborn offspring.

Micah responds with a hard-hitting message of what true, worthy worship looks like--a life characterized by three profound things: justice, mishpat in Hebrew; mercy, chesed; and humility. Mishpat emphasizes action--giving people their due, putting things right. In the Old Testament, the doing of misphat was most often toward the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, and the poor--those on the margins of society. Mercy, chesed, is a heart attitude of compassion and grace, out of which flows a life of justice. A life devoid of such virtue and action made any attempt at worship, sacrificial or otherwise, a waste of time.

Ponder: Is there an injustice or a wrong somewhere in your world that God is calling you to put right?

Feb. 4th marks what would be the 108th birthday of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. An outspoken pastor, theologian, underground seminary professor, and spy against the Third Reich, Bonhoeffer’s young life was sadly cut short at the hands of Nazi interrogators.

Throughout his dynamic ministry, Bonhoeffer challenged both the Church and State to recognize and assume their providentially assigned roles. He implored the Church to be a faithful witness in a rapidly deteriorating society. And he spoke out against the grave abuses of governmental power.

While many of his contemporaries were either silent or conflicted in the face of quickly disintegrating freedoms, Bonhoeffer was a strong and steady voice of moral precision.

His story serves as a reminder of the necessity to be an active participant in the public square, particularly as it relates to preserving a just society.

Consider Bonhoeffer’s words to a generation faltering under the grinding pressures of a corrupt regime:

“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was executed in the prime of his life – only 39, and recently engaged. Yet even though he was young, Bonhoeffer had a profound influence on his generation and those that came after him.

As we honor the memory of Bonhoeffer, it’s crucial to remember that we also have the privilege and responsibility to engage in the public square. Though we are young, our voices matter and can have lasting and meaningful impact, not just in our time, but for future generations as well. http://blog.speakupmovement.org/university/thought-reform/dietrich-bonhoeffer-subversive-religious-freedom-advocate/