All Along The Watchtower
Text: Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4 (Luke 17:1-10)
The Righteous Shall Live By Faith
“There must be some way out of here, Said the joker to the thief. There's too much confusion, I can't get no relief. “
It doesn't matter if you are Bob Dylan contemplating society at the close of the sixties, or the people of God observing the corruption of their leadership in the seventh century before Christ, or we sitting here today shaking our heads at the powers that be. One theme remains clear. We do not understand how the onslaught of evil against those who are helpless to withstand it can continue to go on.
A community of faith is built on forgiveness. That is the Christian life. Have we sought reconciliation with those who have hurt us? Have we taken the initiative to reconcile with those whom we have wounded by our action or inaction? Or have we sat idly by secretly hoping it will all fix itself, or that it will all go away?
Our failure to seek out these injuries head-on with an eye toward the restoration of these damaged relationships only leads to bitterness, festering resentment or even hatred, and a downward spiral into despair. Is it any wonder, then, that we have little faith and trust in God to deliver justice for all the evil we see at work in the world? We need help! And we need a lot of it, don't we?!
Jesus comes to us today with a solution to both of these problems. It centers around faith. And, as with most things, it isn’t about us. It is instead what God has done for us.