Let Justice Roll Down Like Water…
George Washington Carver once said, “Nature is an unlimited broadcasting station through which God speaks to us every hour—if we will only tune in.” By now you know that I agree with Carver. If we will slow down and listen carefully, God has much to say to us in His creation. Many of the things we hear will be comforting or encouraging words, but at times the message may be challenging.
A few weeks ago I made a day trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park with my friend Bill Fortney. Bill wanted to go to the Tremont area so we could photograph the beautiful Middle Prong cascades. As you can see from the picture, this is a lovely and inspiring location.
When I am in places like this there is a passage from the prophet Amos that invariably comes to my mind. Amos says, “let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream.” Roaring rivers and streams cause me to remember that there is much injustice in the world today. There is racial injustice, economic injustice, environmental injustice, social injustice and a host of other injustices. Countless people suffer today because justice and righteousness are all too often lacking.
A few verses after Amos made his familiar admonition he declared, “Woe to you who are complacent…” Although these words were spoken over twenty-five hundred years ago I believe that it is, in fact, complacency that remains a major contributor to the many injustices in the world. I know I am guilty of being complacent far more often than I should be. For this reason I remain thankful for God’s “unlimited broadcasting station” of nature and how it reminds me time and time again of His desire to see “justice roll on like a river” and “righteousness like a never-failing stream.” Now it’s up to folks like you and me to see that it happens!
–Chuck Summers