Let the Son Reign

5 The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: "The LORD is our righteousness." (Jeremiah 23:5-6)

What would it look like if justice and righteousness were truly hallmarks of our world? Would anyone be homeless or hungry? Would our prisons be overcrowded? Would our environment be polluted and our natural resources be depleted? How do we celebrate the reign of Christ while giving our allegiance to the gods of money, celebrity, and self indulgence?

God, through the prophet Jeremiah, called out corrupt leaders and lamented the spiritual barrenness of God's chosen people. But God promised that the turmoil was temporary and that God would lead the people as per the original intention before they begged for a human king. Like the people of Israel, we often prefer to follow the way of the world. We choose the obviously flawed, inadequate powers-that-be over the mysteriously perfect presence of the Almighty.

When the sun shines brightly as the rain falls it's called a sunshower. We are in need of a Son shower on our lives, on our world. On our own we can't rid ourselves of "selfishness and empty conceit" (Philippians 2:3). Only drenched in the grace and love of God can we hope to realign our priorities as God reshapes our hearts. May Christ's reign burst into the world in an overflow of compassion, peace, justice and righteousness.

But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. (Amos 5:24)