Thought for Today
Leviticus 19:15 You shall not render an unjust judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbor.
Micah 6:8 He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Matthew 12:18 "Here is my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved, with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
Luke 18:7 And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them?
“justice Classically, the concept of each person receiving what is due. Biblically, the emphasis is on right relationships and persons receiving a share of the resources of the society. Concern is expressed for the oppressed and their right treatment. Justice is related to love and grace.” (Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms, pg. 152)
Throughout the year, but especially during Advent, we see, hear and read a lot about justice. We encounter the idea in our civil affairs, particularly in association with our civil justice system, our police and courts. The U.S.A. has a civil justice system established in our Constitution, including a system of civil and criminal courts and appellate courts culminating in our Supreme Court. It is a complex system that generally works surprisingly well.
Few citizens, however, understand that our civil justice system is not truly designed to ensure justice in the sense of that definition above. Our legal system is a descendant of the English legal system. Both systems are designed to basically limit the powers of the civil government at all levels of government. From the Magna Carta to our Constitution, the aim is to prevent all the nation’s resources from being used unfairly to limit the rights of the citizens. Once again, despite how so many of us feel in April, the system generally works surprisingly well.
Yesterday, the devotional in These Days was titled, “Executing Justice.” Although the author repeatedly used the term justice, the devotional was really dealing with social justice. That same dictionary defines social justice as “The recognition of the rights and obligations of individuals and a society. Full participation in the institutions and processes of society is a goal. Exclusion and marginalization become forms of social injustice.” (ibid, pg. 152)
Most of what Christians see, hear and read about in our spiritual life is actually more focused on social justice. Unless one is a lawyer, the distinctions between the 2 are not generally foremost in your mind. As Christians, we need to be very careful in how we use the different terms and in how we think about them. That first definition of justice does include that last sentence, “Justice is related to love and grace,” but our civil ‘justice’ system has little to do with love and grace. That system focuses entirely on strict obedience to the letter of the law.
Jews and Christians are more properly focused on the concepts in Micah 6:8 and the interaction of justice, kindness and humility. We are to do justice, love kindness and exhibit humility as we walk through life with our Creator God.
Christians must remember that in everything in our lives we are saved through our faith in Jesus, the Christ, and that our salvation is the gracious gift of our God (Ephesians 2:7). In our spiritual lives there is no Exclusionary Rule, no Separation Clause, no requirement of a Writ of Habeas Corpus. Jesus laid it all out for us rather simply, "Luke 10:27 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."
Our Christian justice is the justice of the law of love. We are commanded to love ourselves and all of God’s children. We generally do far too well on the first part and far to poorly on the second. And, as always, we need to remember the fundamental rule of scripture, ‘All always means all!’
Stay safe, do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with God, trust God,
Pastor Ray