A God of Perfect Justice
God is perfectly just. This is good news for humans, who are not.
I wrote the following reflection to go along with Ep 16. Communicable Attributes: A God of Peace and Justice of the podcast.
This week we consider what it means that the God of the Bible is a God of peace, justice, and righteousness.
It is perhaps understandable that the ancient Greeks believed there was a specific, personal god dedicated to inciting chaos and war. All the evidence of history suggests that it is impossible for humans to secure a lasting peace. The little peace we do occasionally secure seems to teeter on a knifes edge, with the balance of power shifting as empires compete to develop the next super weapon. Wars, chaos, and turmoil ensue each time the the fragile balance of power is upset.
The God presented in the Bible stands in stark contrast to this. He is the God of peace. He is perfectly just and right. During our time on Earth, we are experiencing the very beginning of God's kingdom: his just and righteous rule. Some of our church communities do this very well, others not so much. Regardless of how well sinful humans are able to serve as ambassadors of God's kingdom, the inauguration ceremony was completed when Christ was given his regal crown of thorns and enthroned on a wooden cross for the world to see: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS! (John 19:19)
Our hearts ache for the peace that will come with God's perfectly just rule. I suspect you yearn for that peace, too, but all the evidence indicates that you can't sort it out on your own. You need someone else to show you the way. You need the Prince of Peace.
"In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea [where Jesus lived: in Nazareth]...
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore "
- Isaiah 9:1, 6-7 (700 years before Jesus was born)