Bible Verse: Learn to do right: seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow. Isaiah 1:17
Scripture Reading: Luke 4:14-21
Are you “woke?”
Perhaps you recoil, get angry, or are thoroughly confused about the question.
The culture war term “woke” usually refers to a collection of ideas about sexuality, gender and race, and the consequential activism to overcome real and/or perceived oppression. It is often suggested that the old white boys club, with its power and self-interest, needs to be exposed and humbled. Wokeness implies that laws and culture should accept, support, and/or encourage whatever someone believes about their sexuality and identity.
Lest we Christians get on our high horse too quickly, we must recall that there have been times when Christians have used power and influence in ways that were indeed damaging and oppressive to others, often in the Name of Jesus, such as the Crusades, the slave trade, and residential schools. We do need to wake up to some of these truths before we get too defensive.
My fundamental problem with wokeness isn’t the potentially flawed ideas that can be associated with that ideology.
My biggest problem is that I’ve never met someone “woke” enough.
But hold on — let me explain what I mean by “woke.”
The Father is calling His church to wake up — perhaps “woke” up? Like teenagers, we resist. God patiently and firmly persists, too. It takes humility and compassion for us to see things that we might not like, or listen to stories that we might not relate to or understand, and He gives us time and space to grow. He wants to show us what is on His mind and heart; the Father has plans for us, good things He wants to do with us.
Much of it is on hold until we wake up.
If we woke up, we’d see and feel God’s burden for broken families, racial trauma, childhood poverty, abandoned seniors, millions of refugees and slaves, warfare, loneliness, abortion, organ harvesting, corporate corruption, and the graveyard of mammon worshippers.
If we woke up, we’d see systems of evil that are much more comprehensive than we imagined.
If we woke up, we’d be honest about our lukewarm love, half-hearted obedience, and unwillingness to pay the price of loving our neighbour.
Seventeen verses into the book of Isaiah, the voice of God repeated one of His most common refrains, like the bridge in a Pentecostal worship song: “Learn to do right: seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.” (Isaiah 1:17)
This week, I’m inviting you to listen to God’s rousing voice and look with hope at things which weigh upon His heart and plague the lives of our friends, neighbours and enemies.
The Spirit hovers over His church, whispering, calling, and even shaking us – it’s time to ‘wake’ up.
Prayer: Lord, help me wake up. Break my heart for what breaks Yours and show me whatever You have for me to do. Amen
Reflection: Are you ready and willing to have your heart broken by the things that break God’s heart? If not, what might be holding you back?
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