How big is our vision of Christ?

Congress yesterday passed another "continuing resolution" to keep the government from shutting down next week. Now we have until the first week of April.

I wonder why this is called a "continuing resolution"? It seems to me more irresolute than resolute, not to have passed a budget yet for this year, and not to be able to agree on a budget for next year.

The Democrats had the power to pass last year's budget, but they failed to do so. I suspect that putting on paper that much spending for so many entitlements and frivolous pork projects would have meant an even greater drubbing last November than what they actually experienced.

The same is true today. There is more irresolution than resolution in these stop-gap spending measures, simply because Democratic Senators and a Democratic President do not want to concur in proposed Republican cuts, and they're not willing to stand good for what they do want to keep in the budget for themselves and their constituents.

This is leadership?

Americans deserve better than this. This budget irresolution is irresponsible and indefensible. Are there any Christians in Congress? Do they ever caucus about what the Word of God might require of them in working together to make government a servant of God for good? And if not, perhaps it's time we urged them to do so. If they cannot unite in their common faith to bring more courageous, wise, and resolute leadership to Washington, then they need to admit that their faith is not worth the baptism certificate it's written on.

This situation will not heal itself. Someone needs to propose something new, something different, something that transcends the petty interests of morally-bankrupt political parties and leads in the way of truth. He Who is making all things new is doing so through His people. If any of them are in Congress, now's the time to make their ultimate convictions known.

Additional related texts: Romans 13.1-4; Psalm 72

A conversation starter: "Wouldn't it be interesting to see what might happen if the Christians in Congress from each political party came together and suggested some altogether new and selfless way to break the budeget logjam?"

T. M. Moore

Jesus has told us what we need to do.

It's easy to get sidetracked on the roadway of life.

How can we account for the irrepressible human impulse to care?

This is a mystery.

Has the faith of Christ arrived at a defining moment?

Just--The scale is an excellent symbol for justice, which helps us to understand why it is so universally employed.

Uses of the Law: Make Known the Character of God (7)

T. M. Moore

“The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.” Deuteronomy 32.4

The scale is an excellent symbol for justice, which helps us to understand why it is so universally employed. Justice is served when wrongs are set right and “balance” is restored to a community. Where justice obtains, evil is kept in check, good is rewarded, and benefits abound.

Within Himself, in the Persons of the Godhead, God is just and upright; all His ways are justice. He is completely “in balance” within Himself, and His Law shows us how we may know uprightness, balance, and justice in our relations with one another.

God is without sin – He is holy. Justice is thus related to holiness; a holy people sustains communities where justice is the norm. Justice is also related to love. Where justice does not exist among sinful men, danger and chaos must obtain, as the book of Judges makes clear. For our just God to reveal the way of justice, therefore, is a most loving thing.

Justice also enables us to realize the goodness and wisdom of God. As we work for justice we work to preserve a society in which wickedness is restrained, goodness prevails, and wisdom is practiced all around. God is One, and all His attributes are one in Him. His Law makes known to us the character of God so that, as we hear, fear, obey, love, and serve Him, we escape the corruption of the world, claim His promises, and partake of His very being (2 Pet. 1.4).

For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the life of faith, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.ailbe.org and click on our Book Store.

Wise--The wisdom of God is revealed in His Law; by obeying that Law, God’s people display wisdom to the surrounding world – God’s wisdom, not theirs.

Uses of the Law: Make Known the Character of God (6)

T. M. Moore

“Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has a god so near to is as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him?” Deuteronomy 4.6, 7

The wisdom of God is revealed in His Law; by obeying that Law, God’s people display wisdom to the surrounding world – God’s wisdom, not theirs.

The wisdom of God is manifest in His Law on practically every page, as He reveals simple matters of neighbor-love that are intended to allow His people to flourish and prosper. The fact that the Law of God continues to shape the protocols of human society, in nations and communities all over the world, demonstrates both its enduring wisdom and the wisdom of Him Who gave it. Nations and peoples may not acknowledge the divine provenance of the laws by which they live, but this does not negate the fact of it.

Wisdom is simply “skill in living,” knowing how to co-exist in such a way as to reflect the communion, love, interdependence, and respect of the Persons of the divine Godhead. As the Trinity is one, existing in perfect unity and love, so God desires for His people to have the knowledge and skill – wisdom – to enjoy that unity and love in their own experience. His Law and all His Word provide the revelation we need to understand and refract the character of God and His wisdom to one another.

For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the life of faith, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.ailbe.org and click on our Book Store.

Good--The very meaning of “good” inheres in the character of God.

Holy and Loving--The eternal, self-existing, self-revealing God, the Creator of worlds and the Redeemer of His people, the altogether sovereign Lord of heaven and earth is holy, and He commands the people He has chosen for Himself to be holy as well (Lev. 11.44)

Sovereign--The people of Israel were made to understand, by the revelation God made to them in His Law, that He has all authority and power to accomplish whatever He commands.