Standing Up for What is Right

November 26, 2014

Standing Up for What is Right

You have taken up my cause, O Lord,

    you have redeemed my life.

Lamentations 3:58 (NRSV)

God created us to be in community. Even the greatest loners, the most introverted of us do not relish complete isolation. Within the soul of all humankind is the desire to be loved by others, to be accepted by our communities and to have a sense of self-esteem rooted in the love and acceptance of others. As much as God created us to be in community, he also created us to stand alone as a “voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord’” (John 1:23 NRSV).

Sometimes our voice in the wilderness is when we don’t go along with the crowd when their conversation becomes sexist, racist or just plain disrespectful of human dignity. Sometimes our voice in the wilderness is when we take a stand for the sanctity of life, or for care and respect for creation, or speak out against any of the myriad of affronts to the goodness of God that confront us each and every day. We can remain silent, or we can go along to get along and remain in the good graces of our community; or we can be the “voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord’.”

When we so chose to a voice for God in our community, we will find ourselves standing alone. We will not enjoy this lonely place because it cuts across the grain of God’s intended order for our lives. But even in such a lonely place, we will find we are not really alone: “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20b). As we stand up for what is right, we can rest in the assurance of God’s Word, “I called on your name, O Lord, from the depths of the pit; you heard my plea, “Do not close your ear to my cry for help, but give me relief!” You came near when I called on you; you said, “Do not fear!” You have taken up my cause, O Lord, you have redeemed my life” (Lamentations 3:55-58 NRSV).

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.