Decision time

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?" Isaiah 58.6

It is shameful that Christian respectability still often boils down to an outward show of sobriety and moral rectitude, when both the prophets and the Gospels are at pains to emphasise the superiority of right actions over empty gestures. Today Christian Aid adds its voice to the call for an ethic of mercy with justice, reminding us that those most in need are often those least responsible for their predicament. Whether it is war or climate change, it is the poor who end up on the front line and suffer first and foremost. From cover to cover, the Bible shouts that this is not fair and it warns that God will hold those responsible to account.

Judgment is coming. And when the axe falls, on which side shall we be found: victims or perpetrators? There will be no spectators when Jesus returns to administer that judgment, or when we appear before his heavenly throne. So we have to make up our minds now, expressing our decision not in words but in actions.