“The Lord reigns forever, executing judgment from His throne.
He will judge the world with justice
And rule the nations with fairness.
The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed,
A refuge in times of trouble.
Those who know Your name trust in You,
For You, oh Lord, do not abandon those who search for You.”
Psalm 9: 7 – 10
I’ve always been told that justice meant offenders were punished and the victimized were set free. The good guys receive honor and glory, and the bad guys fall off of cliffs while wailing the regrets of their decisions. Justice was always straightforward. Society has always compartmentalized injustice and reduced it into flashing headlines, Facebook statuses, Did-you-hear-abouts, and incriminating mugshots. The idea of injustice never followed us into our homes without a superhero exterminating it with ka-pows! And bangs!
So what happens when it does? What happens when injustice becomes a way of life? When you’re caught in the grey area between right and wrong? What happens when injustice infiltrates and jumps out of the television screen onto the streets you walk on?
When the Bible talks of justice and judgment, I imagine a lot of finger pointing, yelling, accusation, and blazing unquenchable flames shooting at me. For the longest time, the only thing that kept me from following Christ was this image of condemnation that I couldn’t get out of my mind. It was as though God was testing me on what I would do if I was left to my own devices and abandoning me because I could never measure up to who He expected me to be.
What a lie.
The Father’s justice is so much bigger.
Since entering Mozambique, my heart has been burdened with what to do about the injustice that impregnates this land. Why do children to run around in rags and why are there so many young, single mothers abandoned by their lovers and husbands? Why is it that there are countless neighborhoods of affluence that sit directly across from single-room huts that house families of six? Why are there thousands of orphans who have lost their parents to AIDS and facing impending death as a result of the same affliction? Why are dictatorships allowed to oppress and murder millions of their own civilians?
When I ask these questions, I find that there are few, if any, who have the answers. So I turn to God, because I know His justice is pure. I know, that one day, this nation won’t have to suffer any longer because it will be under His rule of fairness. I know that He will be their refuge when they’ve been refugees their entire lives. I know that He will be their shelter that will never deteriorate. I know that He will never abandon them. I trust that one day, African children clothed in silk will run around on golden streets and mothers will be honored. Orphans will dwell in the house of their Father, and there will be no more death. His justice is perfect and everything this world is not.
