Tuesday, June 04, 2013

Sinful Justice The New 52 #11

What did you expect, scales?
  I like to think of myself as a man who loves justice. If you asked my family they would agree. During a recent contest between us all, I was the one that was easily the most strict person when it came to adhering to the rules. I love justice because God loves justice. In Micah 6:8 he says it is one of the few things that he requires from us and yet justice isn't always easy.
It is easy to dispense justice when you are the one wronged. As a boy, I remember when I got to spank my brother because he allowed me to be spanked for his crime. It was such sweet justice to be the one welding the paddle. In a perfect world, justice would always be easy because we'd always be in the right. But this isn't a perfect world.
We are in a world tainted by sin and wrong doing. Even ones who love justice, like me, do wrong things. A few weeks ago I made a series of poor choices the culminated with me sitting on the side of the road receiving a ticket. As I sat there waiting for the officer to finish up his task I couldn't help but put my love of justice aside and pray for mercy. I wanted so badly to be let off with just a warning, something less just than I deserved, but all I could thing of was the rest of Micah 6:8... to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God.

Mercy shouldn't be something we long to receive, it should be something we desire to show. Just likehow justice isn't about handing out punishment to those that have wronged you, as much as it is about admitting your wrong doing to others and accepting the punishment. Because when we walk humbly with God, it begins with Him showing us mercy by giving us grace for justice.