July 10 - The Fairest of Them All
July 10
The Fairest of Them All
Bible Reading: Revelation 15:1-4
1Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete. 2And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God. 3They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying:“Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints! 4Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, for Your judgments have been manifested.”
WHAT DO THE following people have in common?
• A black-robed judge
• A baseball umpire
• A police officer
• A football referee in a black-and-white striped shirt
• A schoolteacher
Yes, they all have jobs; what else? OK, so they all have brains. Anything else?
Each of those people is expected to be fair. A judge who isn't fair isn't a very good judge, right? An umpire who treats one team differently from another is going to have to deal with a lot of angry players and fans. A police officer who only arrests people he doesn't like isn't doing a very good job. And nobody likes a referee who calls complete passes incomplete or a teacher who gives bad grades to girls and good grades only to boys!
We expect judges and schoolteachers to be fair, right? Because fairness is right, right? That's why a good judge is a fair judge; an unfair teacher is a poor teacher. But why is fairness right?
Because God is fair.
Fairness isn't right because you say it's right or because your friend says it's right. It's not right even because your parents and teachers say it's right or because the government has decided it's right. Fairness is right for one reason and one reason only: God is fair.
Psalm 9:16 says, "The Lord is known for His justice." Isaiah 30:18 says, "The Lord is a God of justice" (NIV). And the saints in heaven sing a song that says, "Great and marvelous are your actions, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations" (Revelation 15:3).
God is just; it's part of His nature to be fair. That's why He values justice. And that's why He commands us to be fair. When we're fair with others, we're like our God, who is "just and righteous, whose love is unfailing" (Jeremiah 9:24).
REFLECT: Why does God command justice? Why does God value justice? How do you know that God is fair? How would you complete the following statements?
"When others treat me unfairly, I _____________________________________."
"When others treat me fairly, I _______________________________________."
"When I treat someone unfairly, I ____________________________________."
"When I treat someone fairly, I _______________________________________."
PRAY: Pray (or sing) the words of Revelation 15:3-4, the song the saints in heaven sing, as a prayer of praise to God.