When God questions and challenges Job, we cringe. God is just, loving and merciful but sometimes it seems God is none of these things. When Job wondered about God's justice and mercy, God answers him and us. Don't be shortsighted, Job. Sometimes you have to take the long view, fly at 30,000 feet and trust that what is happening in the moment is not the entire story. Job struggles to hear this message. So do we, but being just is an attitude, a way of looking at the world. It does not begin with wondering whether someone deserves our care, but with fulfilling God's challenge to help those in need without regard to social class, race, religion or culture. What a great challenge Job and we receive.
People without a voice, a job or a position of power need to know that God cares about and for them, and we, God's people, are the way God shows this to the them and to the world. We are God's face, ears and hands, gazing upon, listening to and reaching out for anyone, but especially for those bound unjustly. Hearing God's challenge and responding is not the work of a single day, week or month, but of a lifetime. When we make time and take time to listen to the world as it is, we cannot not hear and see those in need. More important, over time we learn to respond with compassion and humility. Most of us are only two paychecks a way from poverty.
Today, pray for the homeless wherever they live, but especially for those in your own city or town.
What is your attitude towards the chronically needy?
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