Reading blogs and pondering justice

I'll feel bad if I talk about one blog more than another. I ask you, is that fair?

I'll go this far. Reading through commentor's blogs these jumped out at me because folks at Artisan have been talking about ways to develop their commitment to justice and these happened to be justice/service related. (I see justice and service related):

JadedCM has a post ("Kids in Ministry") about the service project his kids are doing this summer.

A few weeks ago at Artisan, kids brought an offering of things to give away. (Most of the Artisan kids are under 7 years.)

I think it was PoMoKidz that mentioned Pentecost 2006 - a trail that some of you might enjoy looking into :
"A key part of Pentecost 2006 is ensuring that these emerging leaders around the county – people of faith age 30 and under who wish to integrate their faith with their passion for social justice – are equipped and energized to do so." That's all I know.

So my mind is running on justice: My husband particularly likes the idea behind Life Water International. (There's a download to enter the website.) It would be easy to make something like this kid-friendly.

A number of years ago the Evangelical Covenant Church followed (I believe it was) a toy horse that a child put into an offering plate as it made it's way to various mission sights. I don't know if that resource is still available to Sunday Schools.

On the Emerging Kids post from Sunday, July 31, 2005 there are some films and books that touch on justice and other (Artisan) values for kids and families.

Missions and service are one avenue to justice for kids. Another: the topics that kids study in school (police, firemen, ambulance, doctor, judges & juries, government). Don't forget your local Humane Society or SPCA. You can also use history, biographies, fiction, non-fiction, the news as conversation starters. Alot of families and individuals express their sense of justice through the choice of stores and products they patronize. Some are politically involved at various levels. Many individuals advocate for "right" where they live, work, go to school, or in the lives of the people they care about but they don't talk about it (or maybe they rant about it) but they may not think about it as justice.

The harder task (or maybe it's the same task) is the opposite - dealing with the reality that "Life isn't fair." There are things we can't change. How do you know where to invest? How do you know which opportunities to grab? How do you know if, when, and how to get involved or whether to stick it out when it doesn't feel like you're making a difference? All of this is justice related when you're advocating that people and living things be treated right.

Did Jesus advocate justice? How? Don't do a word study on the word "justice," think about the stories.