In any conversation, talking points usually flow naturally from one to next. I’d like to continue the conversation I began in my last post, but I’m afraid that I started us off on the wrong foot. When I last wrote, I’d recently spoken with a friend who’d been turned off of Christianity because of some felt condemnation by a proclaiming Christ-follower. As I sat down to break some virtual bread on here and I felt compelled to communicate the love of God. In my zealousness to communicate that love, however, I think I neglected to communicate the equally important attribute of God’s justice. So, at the risk of interrupting the flow of conversation here, I’d like to backtrack a little bit. I think that we have to understand God’s justice before we can really appreciate the love of Christ.
Justice is a common theme in our society. Who hasn’t gotten sucked into one of those 24-hour marathons of Law & Order on USA? Ok, maybe that is an interest in crime more than justice. But, really, we are a nation that builds shelters for the homeless, collects money for AIDS orphans in Africa, and starts mentorship programs for delinquent youth. We all tune into notorious court cases and celebrate when the obviously guilty party gets convicted. Or we are outraged when the glove fits, but the guy gets off and hops into his white Bronco a free man. We say that it’s important to look out for our neighbor. We say we want the bad guys to get punished. We say that we want justice. (My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my Father. Prepare to die. Name that movie…)
But, despite that fact that we say we’re hungry for justice, when you look at our world it appears that our hunger is more of a light craving. Kids are initiated into gangs and learn how terrorize their local neighborhoods before they hit puberty. Women sell their bodies on the street and men show up night after night to purchase them. Businesses take advantage of their employees, and CEO’s embezzle money from their companies. Husbands and wives neglect their vows of faithfulness and pursue extra-marital affairs. Murder, child abuse, rape, theft, political corruption, suicide, sex trafficking…the list goes on but I’ll stop because, let’s be honest, it’s just plain depressing. Am I being too harsh? (I’m studying counseling – if the world wasn’t this screwed up my field of study wouldn’t exist…) Now, you might argue that you personally haven’t done any of these things. But, look at the mess our world is in: haven’t we all contributed to it every time we’ve lied, or stolen, or made a decision out of greed, or done something to hurt someone we cared about? We’re all caught up in the mess of this world, and unfortunately we’re all guilty of something. And I think most of us, no matter what religion or faith we ascribe to, can breathe a collective sigh of discouragement and disappointment as we admit, This isn’t the way things are supposed to be.
And, we’d be right. This isn’t how things are supposed to be. When God made us, he created us to exist in relationship to him. Like a good father, he showed us to how to live and desired for us to love him. But, stubborn and self-centered, we decided to rebel and reject him. We’ve been doing our own thing and reveling in our rebel ways ever since. The problem is, God is not only a good father, but he’s also a perfect judge. That’s bad news, because unlike us who say we want justice but actually wreck our world with injustice, God actually has to carry out justice because it’s who he is. And what does a good judge do when he’s faced with a guilty criminal? He has to punish him. Otherwise, he’s not a good judge – he’s just a corrupt judge. So, we have a problem. You and me are standing in the courtroom and we have a decidedly well-earned guilty verdict coming our way. Sentencing is eminent. Think Dead Man Walking or The Green Mile - we’re headed for a death sentence. We’re in this mess and we can’t find a way out of it. And that’s where Jesus comes in…
