Overflowing with Gratitude

I’ve had such amazing opportunities drop in my lap in the last few years, and none bigger than the chance to act as general editor for God’s Justice: The Holy Bible. I wrapped up the work on it more than a year ago, and it’s just appeared in print. (You can buy it on Amazon.com or Christianbook.com or at your favorite local bookstore.)

This Bible is unique in several ways. First, it’s genuinely a global production. When I was first given the assignment, I was given this basic premise: we can’t have a bunch of westerners talking about justice as though they owned the subject. The whole world must have a voice in this. So my first and greatest task was to find writers from all over the globe, male and female, north and south, who share a deep love of Scripture and a deep commitment to justice. Counting myself, there are 56 of us who wrote book introductions and notes for the entire Bible.

Second, God’s Justice relates justice as the core narrative of the Bible. Much of what I was raised on–and that is reflected in some of the Bibles I’ve seen–considers justice an important grace note. “There are over 750 verses in the Bible about justice.”

Justice, however, is not sprinkled on the Bible like confetti; it is the backbone of Scripture. The Bible tells the story of God setting right his beautiful but damaged cosmos. That is the story of God’s Justice. One of the core commitments of God’s Justice was to find writers who would take each and every book in the Bible and show the part it plays in telling that story. It’s not just Amos. It’s the Psalms. It’s Philippians. It’s the whole Bible.

Third, God’s Justice is beautiful. Nate Young is an amazing, world-class designer. He made God’s Justice elegant and timeless in its appearance. That underlines a core message: God’s Justice is wrapped up in God’s Beauty.

This assignment hit so many sweet spots for me. I love Scripture. I love working cross-culturally. I love working with a team. All I can say is: I’m overflowing with gratitude.