In the morning when I rise,
In the morning when I rise,
In the morning when I rise,
Give me Jesus. - Spiritual

But let justice roll on like a river,
    righteousness like a never-failing stream! – Amos 5:24

I have featured a sunrise photograph at least five times already this month. But Friday morning, walking in the cold cold of raw dawn and witnessing yet another beautiful invitation into the new day, it occurred to me that this is a message we all need to see again and again, especially now.

By “especially now” I mean in this social/political milieu where the level of angst is just off the charts. It’s like this murky fog of endemic crabbiness has settled over public life. People are either deeply offended and angry, or they are angry that other people are offended – or angry if others are not offended enough. There really is no winning. We are living a classic case of “Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.”

So God throws in this succession of amazing sunrises, morning after morning, as if reminding me – reminding us – that newness and light and promise are always part of the plan, always a possibility. Regardless of if we have eyes to see.

God’s version is, I guess, a classic case of “Loved if you do, loved if you don’t…”

We are loved regardless. In other words, accept him or not, Jesus stands at the door and still knocks. Believe him or not, Jesus actively works with his followers to reconcile the world. Accept his words of life or not, and we are living – always – on the cusp of something new and beautiful and full with promise.

Accept this word of encouragement… or not, but I will remain convinced that light always defeats darkness and that justice will “roll on like a river, and righteousness like a never-failing stream” (Amos 5:24). Or, put in a translation I really appreciate, “I want to see a mighty flood of justice—a torrent of doing good.”

It’s not that “we shall overcome one day” is right around the corner so much as that God, in Jesus, has already overcome. We simply have to live into that truth.

“I want to see a mighty flood of justice, I want to see a torrent of doing good.”

And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:18-20

Five sunrise shots from this month: Photographs that tell the truth about the light. – DEREK