No social justice in the Spiritual Realm!

And Jesus said to them, Be careful what you are hearing. The measure of thought and study you give to the truth you hear will be the measure of virtue and knowledge that comes back to you--and more besides will be given to you who hear.  Mark 4:24 (Amplified Version)

You may have heard the term "social justice" being tossed around these days from professors and politicians. Although it has it's roots in ancient times, the modern definition is as follows:

Social justice is based on the concepts of human rights and equality and involves a greater degree of economic egalitarianism through progressive taxation, income redistribution, or even property redistribution. 
Websters online defines it as: the distribution of advantages and disadvantages within a society.

In other words, take from the "haves" and give to the "have nots" to make everything fair. 

So, when I came across this scripture in Mark, it stopped me cold. Whatever your political leaning, it is apparent from this verse that Jesus plainly did not believe in social justice in the spiritual realm!  In fact, not only did he NOT advocate taking from those spiritually rich and giving to the poor, but He clearly advocated in the following verse to take from the spiritually poor and give even the small bit they have to the spiritually rich!

For to him who has will more be given; and from him who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away by force. Mark 4:25

Wow! That sounds pretty harsh, doesn't it? And so contrary to what we hear in our culture.  But look at Mark 4:24 again. There's an obvious cause and effect balance going on. Jesus says that the amount of time and effort you put into studying the truth (God's Word, in this case, because in context, He is talking about the truth of the Kingdom of God) is the amount of virtue and knowledge you will receive in return. That's a promise from God you can count on!

(Similar to the amount of work you put in to get an education and hold down a job and save your money is commensurate with the amount of wealth  you will have! What a concept. But, I digress)   

This concept of sowing and reaping runs through the entire Scripture. Not one man or woman in the Bible who possessed Spiritual gifts and did great things for God, achieved what they did without extreme sacrifice and dedication. Not Abraham, Moses, Noah, David, the prophets, John the Baptist, the apostles... etc... 

What if they did all the work, the study, the long hours in prayer and then God gave their spiritual gifts to another person who hadn't done a thing? What if Noah had spent those 100 years building the Ark but then never got to go on it? What if John the Baptist had spend the first 30 years of his life in the desert eating locusts and honey but then the blessing of being able to introduce the Messiah to the world was given to another who had been sitting around not even thinking about God. What is just about that? 

So, I'd like to make two points here:

1. God is a God of Justice. Yes, He's a God of grace and that grace covers our sins when we repent and turn His way. But He doesn't give us Spiritual blessings (understanding, knowledge, power, discernment, virtue, love, peace..etc) unless we work for it. The Kingdom of God is not a Socialist Kingdom. 
2. If you are feeling flat Spiritually, ask yourself how diligently, how often, and how enthusiastically do you study God's Word? How much time do you spend at the feet of Christ in adoration and worship? 

I'm reminded of one of my favorite Psalms, Psalm 1 

Blessed happy, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly, following their advice, their plans and purposes, nor stands, submissive and inactive, in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down to relax where the scornful and the mockers gather.

But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law: the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God, he habitually meditates, ponders, and studies by day and by night.

And he shall be like a tree firmly planted and tended by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper!

 

Recommending a Fabulous book! Lady in the Mist by Laurie Alice Eakes

 I'm so excited to share a fabulous book with you today by a fabulous author.  The book is Lady in the Mist and the author is Laurie Alice Eakes.  I've known Laurie for years. In fact, until recently, she and I were critique partners! So, I'm very familiar with her writing. And because of that, I have been so excited to share her with you, my readers and blog followers. The reason?  Her type of stories are quite similar to mine in that they are suspenseful, historical romances.  I KNOW you're going to love them!!   If you leave a comment, your name will be entered in a drawing for a Lady of the Mist coffee mug or Tote bag. So, please leave a comment for Laurie and then go out and buy this great book! You won't be sorry.

By virtue of her profession as a midwife, Tabitha Eckles is the keeper of many secrets.

Dominick Cherrett is a man with his own secret to keep: namely, what he, a British aristocrat, is doing on American soil working as an indentured servant.

In a time when relations between America and England rest on the edge of a knife, Tabitha and Dominick cross paths, leading them on a journey of intrigue, threats, public disgrace, and . . . love? But can Tabitha trust Dominick? Finding true love seems impossible in a world set against them.

With stirring writing that draws you directly into the story, Lady in the Mist takes you on the thrilling ride of love’s discovery.

And here's praise for Lady in the Mist!

 

“Lady in the Mist brims with tension, intrigue, and romance.”—Julie Klassen, bestselling author of The Silent Governess and The Girl in the Gatehouse

“Lady in the Mist is a book you won’t want to miss.”—Golden Keyes Parsons, author of In the Shadow of the Sun King

 

“I loved, loved, loved this book. It grabbed me by the heart and held on.”—Lena Nelson Dooley, author of Love Finds You in Golden, New Mexico

“Secrets, suspense, and a sweetly told love story make this a highly rewarding read.”—Cheryl Bolen, Holt Medallion–winning author of One Golden Ring

“A fascinating story of redemption and sacrificial love. It captivated me from the first page.”—Ann Shorey, author of At Home in Beldon Grove series

Here's Laurie with her adorable dog

Midwives’ historic role in society began to fascinate Laurie Alice Eakes in graduate school. Before she was serious about writing fiction, she knew she wanted to write novels with midwife heroines. Ten years, several published novels, four relocations, and a National Readers Choice Award for Best Regency later, the midwives idea returned, and Lady in the Mist was born. Now she writes full time from her home in Texas, where she lives with her husband and sundry dogs and cats.

I asked Laurie to share with us a bit about what she hopes the reader will take away from Lady in the Mist.

When I write a book, I don’t always set out figuring out what the spiritual theme is. That comes later with the development of the characters and plot. This was the situation with Lady in the Mist. Once I had the book outlined, I understood what both my hero and heroine had to deal with to make their love and lives complete and whole.

Forgiveness. Not forgiveness of others. They could do that to some extent. They need to forgive themselves.

Too often, preaching and teaching about forgiveness dwells on forgiving others. Others hurt us, snub us, make us angry in some way, and we understand we must forgive. Yet we hear little about how important forgiving oneself is.

Think what Jesus said, though. Love your neighbor as yourself. Hmm. Self love is bad, right? I struggled with this for years. But we can love ourselves because God loves us. Only when we accept that we are lovable because God has accepted us and loves us unconditionally, then and only then are we free to love others fully.

This is the underlying struggle of Tabitha and Dominick, as they deal with past actions they don’t like very much and current events that could tear them apart through their deaths.

Because this is the ultimate proof of God’s love, the verse I chose for this book is from probably my favorite book of the Old Testament.

MaryLu Here

I'm halfway through this book and can hardly put it down. You're going to love these characters, particularly the hero, Dominick. Laurie has a unique writing style that is humorous, suspenseful, romantic, and keeps you turning pages.  I know you're going to love all her books.