LUKE’S CHRISTMAS GOSPEL OF JESUS: A 30-Day Christmas-Time Devotional.

The Three Great Reversals.

Luke 1: 52-53 (MsgB)

[52] “He knocked tyrants off their high horses, pulled victims out of the mud. [53] The starving poor sat down to a banquet; the callous rich were left out in the cold.”

The Three Great Reversals!

Eugene Peterson, author and translator of The Message Bible, writes in his devotional commentary on Luke’s gospel that Mary’s short Christmas-time oratory (verses 46-55 of chapter 1) could easily be entitled “The Three Great Reversals.”

Patterned amazingly after the prayer of Hannah (see 1^st Samuel 2: 1-10), we find in verse 51 (yesterday’s study) Mary speaking out about how God is our rescuing hero who establishes His strength on our behalf.

“He bared His arm and showed His strength, scattered the bluffing braggarts.”

In verse 52, Mary goes on to explain that God has the power to pull down cruel, self-centered leaders at the top, while lifting up their victims from the bottom.

And finally, in verse 53, Mary speaks about a God who has a heart for true justice, filling the mouths of the hungry while sending hard-hearted, wealth-driven individuals away empty-handed.

As Peterson states, “Mary’s prayer takes us into an expansive world of God’s promises that are in the process of being fulfilled.” In a world where injustice still seems to rule and reign, we can take hope that the Advent of Jesus, God’s Messiah, is still in process, still advancing His righteousness in an unrighteous world.

In a society where there is a lot of bluster on the subject of social justice, know that God’s plan for bringing true justice into our world always has been and always will be centered exclusively on the advancing Kingdom ministry of Jesus, not the fleshly-driven agendas of well-meaning human efforts.

As I see it, we Christians need to step back a bit from our belief that self-righteous political agendas will make the world a better place. When you look at the increase of lies and corruption in American politics today, why would we want to put our trust for true God-centered social justice into the hands of those same un-godly, un-caring human systems of government?

From my seat on the bench, the sooner we Christians look more to God and an increased indwelling and empowerment of the Holy Spirit to bring true social justice into our world, the sooner Christ-centered agendas and answers can begin to flow.

May God’s Kingdom come today, ushering in more and more of His goodness, reversing the trends of darkness, bringing His redemption to those who have little hope for justice in this world.

My prayer: Thank You, Jesus, that You are the Lord of social justice. Thank You that it’s Your Kingdom that sets all people free from self-centeredness and lifestyles that are consumed with self-gratification, while others around us live in poverty and hunger. Holy Spirit, come awaken Your church to be the agent of Your Kingdom-driven social justice in a broken, unjust world. For Your name’s sake. Amen.

My questions to ponder: Can I step out of my self-centeredness and self-consumed life style so that I can begin to see social injustice as it truly is? Am I guilty of abdicating my personal responsibility to the poor and hungry, believing it’s the government’s job and not mine? How do I need to better embrace God’s Kingdom mercy for those around me in great need, asking God for a specific action plan in addressing the growing needs all around me?

So what is God speaking to you today? Are you practicing the Kingdom presence of God?

We hope you’ll enjoy these 30 blogs that walk you through 30 days of Advent (Nov 26 – Dec 25). Here’s the homepage for the entire series.

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