Is it important to you to give to charities? Is it important to you to give to the church? Do you strictly adhere to giving ten percent? How well are you at administering justice? How well do you show mercy. Does your faithfulness meet God’s expectations?
Many of us give to charities. We often give money to support children’s relief and support efforts. We give to support abused women. We give to help our veterans. We give to support a wide variety of people in need. There is nothing wrong with any of that. It is good we do.
But Jesus tells the crowd and the leadership that isn’t enough. We are also to administer justice. How do we administer justice? In the little things. It’s not all about the legal definition of justice but about doing what is right in the situation. Godly justice is about doing what we can to help those in need.
Jesus also tells the crowd they are to show mercy. Mercy is more than merely feeling sorry for someone. It is helping them in their time of need. It is about forgiving them when they do wrong. It is about coming alongside them and lovingly helping them understand how to improve their lives.
All of this is to be done through our faith in Jesus. Our faith has to be more than mere belief. It needs to be an active faith, one that causes us to take action. This kind of faith is what allows us to administer justice and mercy. It is through an active faith that we can carry out the work God desires us to do.
I pray we all desire to administer justice. I pray we seek to show mercy to others. I pray each one of us seek to grow our faith, have an active faith, and carry out the work God has set aside for us. Administer justice. Show mercy. Grow your faith. Make your faith be active. Do not stop giving.
Matthew 23:23-24 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.”
Marty Pressey 