Article - The Problem With Justice
Luke 6:35-36 “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
If I am a ‘decent’, law-abiding citizen, it’s natural for me to want justice to be done to those who live outside the rules. In fact, the more I follow the rules myself, the stronger my sense of justice becomes. Like James & John, I want to have the power to call down fire from heaven to do destroy the wicked. However, God has made it clear that he has not given me that power (for good reason). He tells me in His Word that HE is the one who will judge and mete out punishment. Not only that, but He says He is merciful to the wicked.
It’s this trait of God that can make my blood boil. I think of the prophet Jonah’s response when God had compassion on Nineveh and did not destroy them as he had threatened to. Jonah said, “I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love…Now O Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” Jonah was so intent on seeing the wicked city destroyed that he couldn’t handle it when God gave them a second chance.
Now the problem with this manner of justice - that which Jonah wanted, and I sometimes find myself wanting as well - is that I have forgotten that I am also a recipient of God’s mercy. If I want justice to be done to others, than I should be willing to accept the full penalty for my sins. Of course, the penalty for one sin in God’s eyes is death. How many times I would have died already! God calls me to have mercy in my heart toward those who are wicked, even against me. He also commands me to SHOW mercy to all people, just as He has shown mercy to me.
Lord, thank you for sending Jesus to the cross to pay the full penalty for my sins. I admit that my version of justice is short-sighted and that I need to trust that you will make a right judgment and show mercy where you will. Amen!
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