Have you ever had to wait for justice?

Tom went on a trip for a few days. When he came back home, he found his house had been burglarized. He called the police looking for justice to be served. What would have to happen for there to be justice?

Sarah got out of work and was walking to her car which was parked in a garage a few blocks away. As she crossed the street, a car ran a red light and struck her, breaking her leg. She called the police looking for justice to be served. What would have to happen for there to be justice?

What is Justice?

Justice is a legal term. It’s basically making things right according to the law. It involves three basic functions.

• Relief for the victim – For there to be justice the wrong-doing must stop and the law, once again, be followed.
• Restoration for the victim – What has been taken from the victim should be restored as much as is possible.
• Punishment for the perpetrator – The one who broke the law must suffer the legal consequences for their wicked action.

Depending on the circumstances of the injustice, our current culture can struggle with each of these aspects of justice.

Sometimes we prefer to ignore the suffering of the victim if we think they deserve to be mistreated and other times we cry out for the victim. Sometimes we say, “What’s done is done. Move on,” instead of seeking restoration for the victim while other times we demand not only restoration but added punitive payments. We demand the punishment of certain people or for certain crimes while in other situations we excuse the perpetrator or only seek rehabilitation.

God is bringing true justice.

God is a just God. It is an innate part of His character. He requires that the law be followed and, where it is broken, He brings justice. He does this regardless of the person. There are no rich, poor, male, female, powerful, or weak. We see this in part now but will see it in full at Christ’s return. Then all those who have been oppressed and victimized will receive ultimate relief. They will be fully restored in His presence and the wicked will be punished.

Our society struggles with this, too, at least the last part.

“Why would a loving God send anyone to hell?” they ask.

The answer is quite simple.

Justice.

The wage of sin is death. God takes sin very seriously. To simply “let it slide” makes light of sin and is not true justice.

Doesn’t God forgive our sins?

Yes, but He doesn’t just dismiss them. There was a punishment for our crimes against God’s law. That punishment was received by Jesus on the cross. Jesus never sinned. Thus, He should never have received the punishment for sin. Yet, He did and He did so willingly. In fact, that was the primary reason Jesus became man.

Jesus satisfies God’s justice while providing us mercy.

It is because of God’s mercy in light of Jesus’ sacrifice that we, like Isaiah, can wait in hope for judgment day. It is because of Jesus that we can call judgment day the day of our salvation. No more will God’s people be oppressed or victimized neither by other men nor by the devil. Instead, we will be fully restored as God’s children. But woe to those who do stand blameless in Christ.

Almighty God,

You are holy, righteous, and just. I know that my sin deserves your everlasting punishment, so I repent. However, I also know that You have removed my sin through the sacrificial blood of Your Son. Because of this, I wait with hope for the day of justice. 

Amen.