We know that we don’t always get everything we want in life. No at all. Our response to disappointment has potential to affect our spiritual lives, as we often blame God for them. But what about when we don’t fulfill our promises to God? Should God have expectations from us? Something to contemplate as we consider Today’s Holy Nougat.
Psalms 33:5 NIV
[5] The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.
Righteousness, Justice & Love 2
We have agreed, I hope, that God’s love language includes Praise. And our praise has various components – the physical, and – for want of a better term – the responsive. We discussed the physical, which often involves music and song. The responsive involves actions that align to what pleases God. Among them are the trinity of Righteousness, Justice, and Love. Although they are truly intertwined, we are focusing on each a bit more to ensure that we zero in on what matters to God.
Self-Check
To what extent have we made God’s priorities our own? Do we see it as disappointing God?
Deeper Dive
Having explored righteousness previously, let’s reflect on God’s love for justice.
In Hebrew, the term Mishpat includes both judgement and justice. And Strong’s Concordance suggests that Mishpat most concisely refers to a verdict ‘… including the act, the place, the suit, the crime, and the penalty. Yet, when we speak about God’s Justice or of God’s love for Justice, we are usually referring to ethical behaviour that leads to fair verdicts. It is no wonder that the psalmist cried in Psalm 35, plead my cause oh God! That’s the suit placed before the court of Heaven. Don’t misunderstand me, in God’s justice, verdicts are passed; but God’s ruling doesn’t include bribes or the violation of another’s rights and dignity – even for God’s elect.
It is important to note that God’s Justice doesn’t always favour us who are God’s chosen. If we do not align to God’s will, God’s Justice may feel like God’s Judgement. The defeat at Ai in Judges 6, which follows God’s word to Joshua via the captain of the Lord’s hosts (when the angel said he was neither for nor against Israel, he only sought to execute God’s justice in Joshua 5) corroborates that. We find further evidence God’s Justice when God reprimanded David, God’s chosen, for raping Bathsheba and murdering Uriah see 2 Samuel 12. The repercussions spanned generations.
As people who love God, and who wish to reciprocate God’s love for Justice, we are called to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. That sounds like we use God’s yardstick in judgement, recognising that there is sometimes scope for grace, while conscious that God’s justice includes restoration and transformation.
When we do Justice God’s way, Justice isn’t blind. Rather, fairness is our standard, and the vulnerable know that their rights are considered and upheld in what we do. It also includes living with integrity for God’s sake, as well as having compassion toward the weak and marginalised. There are penalties, directed at the perpetrator, not the victim.
The World Council of Churches suggests that Justice must include brokering peace through unity and reconciliation. This includes wrongs being acknowledged by perpetrators, with the subsequent restoring to rights what has been unlawfully taken. In the process, broken relationships are rebuilt.
It is a tall order. Yet, that’s part of what Y’shua came to do, as per His Misson statement in Luke 4. If we wish to speak God’s love language fluently, then justice must be our natural mission.
Do we dare to do otherwise?
Point to Ponder
Where do we see scope for us to be agents of God’s justice in our current contexts?
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May all we seek be found in Christ
