Faithful on Fridays Blog

I enjoy watching an intriguing courtroom scene where the guilty ends up paying for his crime or the innocent is released: I call that justice. Heroes and villains always make for an inviting story, but that aspect of God’s justice, as a core value, is short-sighted. I admit, that’s been my perspective. As I’ve been studying I’ve found that justice is much more than simply a legal term, it’s the standard God uses for His decisions, leading to His actions, that are perpetually right. Righteousness and justice are parallel terms describing God’s way of restoring us back to Eden. 

Old Testament characters reflect that premise:

God questioned Cain in Gen. 4:7, “If you do well (what’s right) will you not be accepted?” As a statement, that set the standard in God’s eyes. 

Moses taught what God requires of His people to live according to His standard of justice: love and fear Him, walk in His ways serving Him, and keep His commandments (Dt. 10:12-22). Those character traits of a believer show their love of others with action because God uses you. He executes justice for orphans, widows, immigrants, and the poor by sending them the benefits of life with Him: back to Eden. That’s why we share the gospel, serve the poor and needy, do what’s right in God’s eyes: that’s His justice. 

Once you experience the new birth in Christ, your sins are forgiven creating a whole new person, the logical conclusion or aftermath is that you want to ‘do what’s right’ trying to right some of the wrongs you see. Jesus’ earthly life did just that, 

And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. Acts 10:38

Wouldn’t it wonderful if all believers everywhere had that same mindset, going around looking for places to do good bringing God’s justice and righteousness to those suffering? 

If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? 1 John 3:17

It seems to me that God’s core values of life, love, and now justice should be our core values as well. We’re His image bearers, representing Him to the world, and displaying the Kingdom of God to our sphere of influence. We restore a little bit of Eden when we show justice to others by caring for them.

Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these My brothers and sisters, you were doing it to Me!’ Matthew 25:34, 40

Find ways of showing God’s life, love, and justice.