What's Justice Got to do With it?

Ecclesiastes 4:9&10 "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man that falls and has no one to help him up."

One of the most amazing aspects of Christianity, in my opinion, is that we are not called to do it alone we are called to be part of a larger community. As tough as it has been for Christians throughout history it was never meant to be a one man fight. We're called to share in each others burdens, to train, correct, and rebuke one another in love and to let our love cover over each others sins. As a Christian community we are called to far more than friendship. We are called to a radical love rooted in our unity of belief that God loves us. We are called to mimic the sacrifice Christ made for us in our relationships with each other.

In the book of Acts we are told of a Christian community where there were "no needy persons" because "no one claimed any of his possessions was his own". In this community those who "owned land or houses sold them and brought the money to be distributed to anyone as he had need." The early Christians of the book of Acts clearly did far more than offering 10% of their income for God's use. They didn't consider that they should own anything if one of their fellow Christians was in need of anything. Giving wasn't considered a task of the wealthy but a task of the believer. If you are a part of a Christian community all members of your community should have everything they need, if they don't you have a responsibility to do what you can to change their reality.

The good news of that type of community is that when you are having a rough time those same people should be helping you just as you'd be willing to help them. There is great safety in knowing that 10-20 other people are ready to pull you out of it when you are struggling. Safety not known by anyone trying to do it all on their own.

True community goes a lot deeper than shared possessions. As a community we are called to correct each other and to allow others to correct us when we step off of the right path. This can be a scary reality for both parties. We have to be willing to make ourselves vulnerable enough to let others in. We have to realize that other people may have wisdom that we lack. It takes courage and humility to open ourselves up to criticism from other people. It can also be very scary to be the one calling someone else out on their incorrect actions, since we don't know how they will react to our input. Every time we step out in faith to call a brother or sister out on their behavior we are opening ourselves up to the possibility that they will want to end the friendship or at least distance themselves because they are hurt. The fearful step of correcting those in our community should be worth it because we are told in the book of James that "whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death."

I know that if I am walking into darkness and death I would want someone to take a risk to try and bring me back. I think that I owe that same courtesy to all others with whom I worship and share life. As a Christian community we need to get in each others business, we need to provide safe places to share our struggles, we need to create a community where no sin struggle is too big to share without judgement and where no sin action is too small to bring up. God hates all sin equally, no sinner is too bad for God to redeem and no sin is too small for God to despise. As people created in His image we should do our best to mimic his attitude toward everything and everyone.

In the Garden of Eden Abel asked God "Am I my brother's keeper" I believe answer for all of us is that "Yes, we are each other's keepers" If we aren't making our best effort to stay informed on each others lives we have some responsibility when something goes wrong. If we know our friend/family/church member lost their job we have a responsibility to ask if they need a little extra food while they search for a new one, or to invite them over for dinner. We should be asking what each others struggles are both in the area of survival needs such as clothing, shelter, food as well as personal struggles such as addictions or greed. We should be helping to offer a solution or supportive community. We have a responsibility to make sure our Christian community is a safe place for all who enter.