Amos: Seek The Lord and Liveနမူနာ

In chapter five, ‘Seek [the LORD] and live’ (v. 4) is paralleled with ‘Seek good, not evil, that you may live’ (v. 14). It seems very similar to Christ’s command to His disciples: ‘remain in my love’ (John 15:9 10). What is the evidence of remaining in Christ’s love? It’s loving one another (John 15:12). And the power to live this way? It’s knowing that Christ has loved us sacrificially (John 15:13). 

Obedience does not merit or bring us into God’s love – that is always an act of His grace. Yet our obedience is the evidence of our love for Jesus. It is in expression of our faith. 

In Amos 5, the evidence that we are seeking the Lord is that we seek good not evil. In fact, it’s more than our actions; it’s that we ‘hate evil’ and ‘love good’ (v. 15). Amos doesn’t call for a veneer of moral action; he wants a love of good and hatred of evil to be the disposition of the heart. Our external action flows from our internal emotions. So how do we encourage a love of justice within ourselves? We remember God’s work for us. 

Back in Deuteronomy 15:15, the Lord said, ‘Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you; that is why I give you this command today.’ One example of this was that they were to freely lend to the poor and needy (Deut. 15:14). 

In Ephesians 2:12, Paul describes Christians as being ‘excluded from citizenship … without hope and without God’. But Jesus Christ showed us mercy and grace when we had nothing. Christians know that, spiritually speaking, we were orphans, widows, aliens. We were enslaved by sin. Yet when we had nothing and deserved nothing, Christ sought us out and showed us generous love and grace. 

Knowing that empowers us to go and give of ourselves for others who are marginalised, excluded and without hope – first in the church and then in the world.

Reflection

When you look at injustice in the world, do you hate it? Do you love justice? Does meditating upon Christ’s generosity to you when you were excluded help you show a similar concern for others?