God of Justice Saviour to all
Came to rescue the weak and the poor
Chose to serve and not be served
Jesus You have called us
Freely we've received
Now freely we will give
We must go, live to feed the hungry
Stand beside the broken, we must go
Stepping forward, keep us from just singing
Move us into action, we must go
To act justly every day
Loving mercy in every way
Walking humbly before You God
You have shown us what You require
Freely we've received
Now freely we will give
We must go, live to feed the hungry
Stand beside the broken, we must go
Stepping forward, keep us from just singing
Move us into action, we must go
Fill us up send us out
Fill us up send us out
Fill us up send us out Lord
We must go, live to feed the hungry
Stand beside the broken, we must go
Stepping forward, keep us from just singing
Move us into action, we must go.
‘God of Justice’
Tim Hughes
‘Keep us from just singing’. Worship is about my actions as well as my words, about my body as well as my heart.
‘We must go’. So what happens when I can’t? What on earth does God want to do with me, especially when I’ve little money to give so others might act in my stead either?
I have no idea how to act justly and love mercy when it comes to the problems of the world. I can sign the occasional petition, write the occasional protest email, but how do I alleviate the social, economic and spiritual problems of my street, let alone my country or another continent?
So what does justice mean when it is just down to how I treat my friends and family? Yes, respect and dignity in relationship, time and love in listening, sharing, in forgiveness and being forgiven, but what else?
Today, I am at a loss to answer these questions.
What is within my power is to obey the third of the prophet Micah’s injunctions (Micah 6.8) that Hughes uses in his song: I can control whether I am prepared to ‘walk humbly with my God’.
If I am, I can only trust that God’s mercy will flow through me in ways beyond my feeble imaginings.
If I am, if I pray ‘Thy Will be done, Thy Kingdom come’ before all else, then God’s justice will be performed - even through me - with a flourish.
So the challenge of ‘we will go’ is: am I prepared to step out into the unknown with humility, not alone, not driven out in multiple directions by a need to accomplish, achieve, perform, but invited into the simple act of putting one foot in front of the other, (one wheel turn after another), in fellowship with my God?
Who will join me?
one step. one revolution. Canon 7d. f6.3. 1/200. ISO 100.
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