40 Faces, 40 Places: A Devotional JourneySample

Mark from Liverpool

Sometimes whole-life discipleship looks like seeking God’s wisdom for pressured decisions.

My frontline is my work on the High Court Bench. God is a God of justice, and that is what He loves. Since I believe God called me to serve Him in this capacity, every moment of work in the courtroom is an opportunity to practice the presence of Christ, remembering to be His ambassador there. I have both the opportunity to do justice in individual cases and, from time to time, in my judgments to influence the development of the law.

As for pressures on my frontline, this job feels like permanently swimming out of my depth! The pressures are twofold: first, the exercise of power, which can have life-changing implications for those subject to it—and second, maintaining Christian integrity in administering a very secularised personal law.

Discipleship in the workplace and work itself matters to God.

Reflection

Sir Mark’s story is a good reminder to give thanks and pray for our legal system and those involved in it.

As a judge, he needs and asks for God’s guidance. Most of our roles and responsibilities aren’t the same as Mark’s, but we all have challenging decisions to make at times. We make judgment calls about how we spend our own lives, and we judge courses of action as managers, as parents, and in any area where we have some responsibility for others. Each of us has opportunities to work for justice in the way people around us are treated.

Solomon’s request in 1 Kings 3 reminds us that when we feel out of our depth and ask for wisdom in administering justice, we ask for something close to God’s heart.

Prayer

Lord, I ask for extra help when it’s particularly challenging to maintain integrity. Please give me the strength to stay true to You. Lord, I pray today for those who feel like they are swimming out of their depth. Please give them and me, Your servant, wisdom.