Justice

So I am really troubled once again about the way in which we see Justice here in the US and in the mindset of the average person.  What is justice?  How did Jesus change the ideals of justice and how is that translated today? 

In Habakkuk 1:4, Habakkuk laments to God that "The law has become paralyzed and useless, and there is no justice given in the courts. The wicked far outnumber the righteous, and justice is perverted with bribes and trickery."

And I can't help but lament with Habakkuk today! We are living in a society in which we punish each other in the name of justice.  Now I could go on about our government system and our prisons which surely need a change too, but what I am really talking about here is the "daily justice" we dish out. 


How do we act when someone "wrongs us."  Once we have judged a person's situation how do our actions change towards them?  Do we throw the first stone before offering compassion? 


Jesus taught mercy and compassion over justice.  So are our churches acting justly if they condemn a whole group of people for a human judgement on their morals?  Is the church acting justly if more hurt is coming out of being a part of them?  Of course NOT! Is a church acting justly when they bully a Pastor who is doing the right thing?  Of course NOT!  Is a church acting justly when they give out food at a food pantry but consider those who receive the food to be an "other" - of course NOT!

So how do we change that?  I can't help but think of the John Meyer song when I write my blog "waiting on the world to change" as if I am putting out there my thoughts but that there is nothing we can do to change it...to reshape our world now.  That it is just too big.


And to some of you my answer is going to sound crazy, impossible and probably improbable, but it is reality.  The only way we are going to change the world is if we become PART of the world...but doing.  More people in the generation Y need to join churches and start changing them!  Ask for more spiritual filled classes, ask for honesty and more important ask for mission!  WE can only change if there are more of us.  And it isn't just the young who need to get on board...there are plenty of "grey hairs" who see the need and are willing to help.

LOVE

Love is a complicated emotion and can cause us to do many things.  But with all its high energy the one thing love can't always claim is our will; often love can drive our will but love can't overcome our will.  And yet, that is what God is asking of us!  God is asking that accept the love that the Holy offers and in return love the Divine - following God's will over our own.  Accepting God's will instead of living for ourselves.

We as humans are a very selfish creature - maybe this comes from evolution and our desire to keep ourselves and our offspring alive.  Maybe it comes from our overwhelming need be significant and have our lives mean more then the few years we walk this Earth.  Wherever our drive for the selfish comes from it is strong and commanding.

But God is asking us to give that up.  To humble ourselves before the Holy and the greater will and to accept a different kind of love.  Not the love that we humans have for each other which is often fleeting and with gain in mind; but the love that parents have for children.  The kind of love that surpasses our very beings and transcends our souls.  The kind of love that led to the death of Jesus on a cross so that the sins of the world could be forgiven.

This kind of love isn't conditional.  And it doesn't come small print.  God loves each of us for who we are - every aspect of who we are!  God doesn't make mistakes nor does the Holy choose to give us hardships.  Yet God still loves.  And calls us to love.

So why do we have such a hard time loving?  Why do we spread hate in the name of love?  Why in our self-righteous paths do we pick our own pride over love?  Why are Christians no better?

We could claim that those who fall into this trap of non-loving just don't truly get the whole Christian thing.  You could go so far as to judge their relationship with God as inferior to others or try to exclaim that they never truly knew the love God is offering.  But I don't think that is the case.

In fact to me that is more language of hurt then love.  For I believe that many of us have experienced the true love of God, even many who don't label themselves as Christians.  And yet, still spread hate, still judge and still pick pride.  For even though we have felt the amazing grace of God's love - it is hard to practice!

Loving people is hard - it is hard to love those in our own families some times let alone loving strangers who we don't understand.  But isn't that the challenge of being a Christian?  Jesus never claimed that following him would be easy.  So, let us all work on being more loving :) Spreading love instead of hate.  Loving instead of judging.  Exclaiming "love" over all else.

1 John 3

¹⁶We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us — and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. ¹⁷How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?

¹⁸Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. ¹⁹And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him ²⁰whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. ²¹Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; ²²and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.

²³And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. ²⁴All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.