Justice and Mercy

I haven't had time to write this down but I figure I would before it loses it's effect on me.

Todd asked the NOOLA team to think of these two words: Justice and Mercy as they headed down to New Orleans to begin their missions trip. When they came back, Eugene shared about Justice and what it meant to him there and Vince shared upon Mercy. That night I thought about those two words after I read Hosea and found it staggering that they should ever be separated. In Hosea and much of the latter Old Testament, there's all this judgement language that God uses. All this Justice that he dishes out to all those who have wronged him. They are strong words of death and destruction. When I read those things, I felt saddened because I know that I would have been those people, not the prophet. I would be and still am in the wrong with God much of the time. So Justice at it's rawest is quite cruel.

An instance that I think of where Justice stands alone is when people talk about the legal systems, especially in Canada. You here things like, "He only got 22 years for murder?", "Our justice system doesn't work anymore", "He should at least get..."

Justice here is raw and without restraint. We talk about criminals like ideas and thoughts that must be destroyed instead of people who may regret and feel remorse; people who's families bear the shame and feel the shock of the actions and live under the constant reminder that they might of done something to bring their family member to this.

There must be Mercy with Justice. We cannot go and right the wrong without remembering that our wrongs were righted on the cross and that an innocent man died for sinners. We go out not as righteous men who bring new changes that are best but as sinners who come humbly to proclaim the love of christ.

If we and I don't step out in humility, I'm afraid all I'll become is another self righteous bastard who assumes that the poor need to be saved and housed and that walls must be torn down but all the time forgetting that those who are poor are people God is loving and those who put up walls are who God is loving.

And most importantly, I am the one God is showing the most mercy to as I pretend and blunder around as a Christian attempting to enact what Jesus has said and done and is doing.