Field guide · Terrain · “He leads me in paths of righteousness”
Us with Godand Justice
Forecast: heavy headlines and gusts of outrage, with quiet acts of kindness breaking through.
Four tired ways to walk
Each has some truth in it. None of them is the whole story.
Under GodSheep that hide from the Shepherd
If I don’t take a stand on every issue, God will hold me responsible.
Over GodSheep that know the way
Justice is a principle. Get the right system in place and God doesn’t need to be involved.
From GodSheep that follow the grass
I care about justice when it helps me and the people I like.
For GodSheep trying to be the sheepdog
Fixing the world is up to us, so prayer can wait until the work is done.
We do justice and love mercy as people who walk humbly with God.
Micah gathered it into one line: “act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). The walking comes with the doing. Isaiah told God’s people to seek justice and take up the cause of the fatherless and the widow (Isa 1:17). Jesus said that whatever we do for the least of his brothers and sisters, we do for him (Matt 25:40). So we can work for what is right with patience and hope, because he walks beside us.
Where the Shepherd isIn Nazareth, Jesus read that he had come to bring good news to the poor and set the oppressed free (Luke 4:18).
Ask God to show you one overlooked person near you, and do one kind, concrete thing for them.
Lord, break my heart for what breaks yours, and keep me walking close to you.
Fellow travelers
People in Scripture who walked this ground before us.
- Esther risked her life to speak for her people after Mordecai asked if she had come to her place “for such a time as this” (Esth 4:14–16).
- The persistent widow kept asking for justice until she got it, and Jesus told her story so we would always pray and not give up (Luke 18:1–8).
Keep walking
- With God: Sheep that know his voicethe posture every entry points to
- Which Way Are You Walking?a short self-check
- The Field Guideevery entry, by terrain, weather and crossing