The possibility of justice on earth
“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
I recently heard a podcast talk by the late Dallas Willard, who said, “there will not be justice on earth until there are enough just men and women distributed throughout the earth to see to it that it’s done... the primary work has to be a community of people who are actually living in a Christlike way.” *
I have learned a lot from Willard over the past 16 years since I discovered his work, and much of my reflection here draws upon his teachings, ideas, and phrases. I have come to understand more fully that the reality of the Kingdom of God coming on earth as it is in heaven (just as we pray in the Lord’s Prayer) is not merely a futuristic hope or a plea for God to show up, but it is a lived experience and Way of Life in which we are each invited to participate.
The salvation Jesus offers is made possible through His birth, life, death, and resurrection, but the daily life of a follower of Jesus necessarily includes embracing His gentle yoke (Matthew 11:28-30), which is comprised of the practices He modeled for us, including prayer, worship, service, silence and solitude, Sabbath rest, study, and fasting at times. These are to the life of a disciple what exercise, weight training, nutrition, and practice are to the life of an athlete. I find this comparison helpful because we cannot expect an athlete to just show up on game day and perform well if they have done nothing behind the scenes to prepare. The daily grind, when no one is watching, is what truly forms a successful athlete. So too, as followers in the Way of Jesus, we can rest assured that He has extended grace to us for what we cannot earn—new life through the Resurrected Christ—and yet, that does not eliminate the need for our effort as we seek to become more like Jesus. We cannot expect our hearts, minds, and bodies to be transformed into the likeness of Christ if we do nothing to participate. As Willard often stated, “Grace is opposed to earning, not effort.” The Christian life is not about trying to do what Jesus did; it’s about trying to become the kind of person who naturally does what Jesus did without even thinking about it. In short, it is character transformation. It is becoming the truest version of our humanity—what God has always intended for us as His image bearers in the world.
When we look around and see the injustices inflicted on people by people of all ages and demographics, it should come as no surprise that such acts of injustice, violence, and self-centeredness are committed when we consider what is truly forming (or perhaps deforming) us. We ultimately become what we give our attention to. In general, I’m not so sure that anyone simply wakes up one day and chooses injustice or evil. I believe it’s more likely to be the result of what one has chosen to give their attention to for moments upon days upon weeks upon months upon years.
Inasmuch as we give our attention to Christ and intentionally practice the disciplines He modeled (not out of legalism, but from a heart sincerely desiring to know, love, and live as Christ), we open ourselves up for His transformative work in us. He will form us into His likeness and image, and we will become the people Willard identified: just men and women distributed throughout the earth to see to it that justice is done... a community of people who are actually living in a Christlike way.
~em
* Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-dallas-willard-podcast/id1762596670?i=1000793199429
Social Media photo credit: Markus Spiske on Unsplash