lifeasmission

Have You Seen My Bike or God’s Justice?

September 17, 2006

When I got to Oslo Maria bought me a really great mountain bike to get around the city. It was such a cool, thoughtful, and useful gift. I used it just about everyday, including this morning. I rode it to a local park with a fountain, benches, and a large grass area where people walk, play with their dogs and visit shops. I was there to prepare for a sermon I am giving this evening. So, there I was, praying, reading scripture, and basking in the coolness of God’s incredible plan for the cosmos, when I turned around and realized that someone had yanked my bike right out from under me. I was no more than 20 meters (60 feet) away and had only had my eyes off of it for less than 20 minutes. Unbelievable. I feel sick that I didn’t lock it or pay more attention. I feel sick that I was so irresponsible with such a great gift from someone whom I care about so much, but most of all I fee sick that we still live in a world where people steal from one another.

Rather than dwelling on feelings of anger and resentment, I am trying to use this experience to remind myself of those throughout the world who feel like this all the time, who have been robbed not just of posessions, but of food, shelter, and human dignity. I am trying to remind myself of how easy it is to covet and steal from others for selfish reasons.

God, I pray that you would act, not because I want my bike back, but because I long for the day when your justice will “roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! (Amos 5:24) I want to see and take part in the vision you gave Isaiah of your Kingdom when you said, “I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard no more. Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years… They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat.” (Isa. 65:19-22)

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