"I have told all your people about your justice. I have not been afraid to speak out, as you, O Lord , well know. I have not kept the good news of your justice hidden in my heart; I have talked about your faithfulness and saving power. I have told everyone in the great assembly of your unfailing love and faithfulness."
Psalms 40:9-10 NLT
We often think of justice in terms of punishment, people getting exactly what they deserve. But when we look at the cross, hear Jesus’ words “It is finished” and see the invitation He extended to the criminal next to Him, we see a different kind of justice. It is one that’s complete – there are no loopholes, no forgotten red tape. It is one that is universal – for the whosoever, anyone who believes. And it is unfailing in its love, faithfulness and saving power.
This is our redemption into freedom, freedom from the judgment of other people; freedom from self-judgement; freedom from people-pleasing. It is God’s gracious welcome into the wide-open spaces of walking by His Spirit, and of living in Christ.
It is the rescue of the woman facing hypocritically thrown stones before a single one could be launched. It is the value shown instead of shaming, when Jesus asked for a drink of water from the Samaritan woman escaping judgement by showing up at a well in the heat of the day. It is the running of a father to greet his lost son. It is the crossing of cultural, racial and religious boundaries in order to show love and compassion and welcome.
Let our justice be Jesus, Immanuel, lived out in us. And let us speak it boldly.
Lynne Shaw
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