I used to struggle with the concept of God’s justice. I used to think that God’s justice and God’s mercy were fundamentally opposed, and that mercy mitigated the harsh justice that was coming our way. Had I read my bible properly I would have known that this is not the case. The bible tells us that justice is a fundamental part of God’s character (Deut.32:4). Rather than working against justice, mercy is the vehicle through which God’s justice reaches us.
I think one main reason that many of us have such a skewed view of justice is that the word when used in our day-to-day lives usually refers to elements of the criminal justice system and therefore to punitive justice, rather than restorative justice. The latter is what is usually meant when the bible talks about justice. It is putting right what is wrong, restoring what is broken, mending relationships, healing wounds.
The Bible tells us that the world is not as it was meant to be. We are separated from God. Our relationships with our Creator, our neighbours, ourselves, and our planet are all broken. But God’s nature is justice, so the world cannot stay this way. God cannot accept injustice. So, God restores the world to how it was meant to be. Jesus came and died so that our relationship with God could be mended. But he also came so that our relationships with others, ourselves and the world might be mended. Christians are quite good at recognising our need for justice and mercy from God, realising the fact that our relationship with God is broken. But once that is restored, do we also recognise that these other relationships still need to be restored? God abhors injustice. God’s nature is just. We are made in the image of God. We also ought to abhor injustice and follow Jesus’ example in the strength the Holy Spirit gives us and act justly, restoring our relationships with each other, with ourselves and with creation.
This term we want to look a little more closely at the theology of justice, why injustice should affect us as Christians particularly and stir us into action.
- Iona, Co-President.