Personal faith in Christ comes with social obligations. If we believe that He reigns as Lord over history as well as Lord over our individual lives, we dare not focus solely on the ‘world within’ and forget the ‘world without’. Restricting His sovereignty to our personal struggles demeans Him. What do we imply about the Saviour when we seek God’s will about moving to another town or marrying someone, but never seek His mind on the plight of the homeless, the rights of the unborn or racial equality?

Cultivating the inner life, vital as that is, without struggling with social issues is too limited and soft. We must think about how Christ wants us to respond to the unjust situations in our community and the world at large.

On the other hand to emphasise social concern without stressing devotion to the Lord resembles dancing on one foot. If we are deeply committed to a cause but not deeply committed to Christ, we may trade away the power of God for the power of politics.

Ungodly people refuse to acknowledge Christ’s lordship in their decisions. But what excuse can we as Christians offer when we forget that His rule over ‘the world within’ also extends to ‘the world without’?

One measure of our likeness to Christ is our sensitivity to the suffering of others.

Author

Haddon W. Robinson

Topics

Our Daily Bread