God’s just and merciful actions he does showing that he loves us.
Justice and mercy, two completely different concepts and yet can come together in numerous ways in our lives. We see justice and mercy everyday from people who get imprisoned for their actions and yet also receive pardons for things they did not do. We expect those upholding the law to do it with justice and to give the proper punishment and not be lenient on the law. While on the other hand, we expect mercy and forgiveness from friends, family, and other loved ones trying to prove we can be better. Normally, only either one is given and not both at the same time for they are two completely different ideas to approaching justice and what was just wronged. God is able to do both, showing his justice to those who mock and disobey him and then also showing mercy to those who love and revere him. He is able to do this because he came down as Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior and then took the punishment we all deserved for the sins we commit.
We are to receive this sacrifice for our sins and know that we are forgiven and with it forgive ourselves and others as Jesus forgives us. Jesus knows that we tender and fragile at points in our lives, therefore he will handle our souls and spirits with his loving hands with care knowing how vulnerable we are. It is written that “a bruised reed he will not break and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out”; when you are low and feel unloved, go to God and he will show you his love, compassion, and mercy upon you. Jesus came as suffering servant in order to fulfill his purpose which was to show mercy to us by taking our place on the cross and in return for that he suffered what the justice of God should have been on our souls. It is through him that God is able to show both justice and mercy to us and forgiving us of our sins when we repent since we are covered by Jesus’ blood. With this, we are to also rely on God for justice for things that happen to us and not take things into our own hands.
Justice can have both a positive and negative meaning, the positive being that the poor will receive their much needed help and the negative being punishment. Everyone looks at justice in the form of punishment of some sort, from a talking to all the way to execution if the crime fits. However, David in Psalms 9 talks about justice in the positive stating that “the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the afflicted perish.” Justice can have positive things as well with helping people and showing them that God is still for and with them even in their lowest moments as we help them to see that very thing. People do need help in this broken, hurt world, they seek both mercy and justice from what is happening to them from governments to even people close to them. Sometimes, the mercy they desire is a form of justice done on the people causing them this pain to begin with. David also prays for mercy by the form of God showing justice to his enemies. We may need to make a sacrifice and settle with people who oppose us for one reason or another in order to receive the justice and mercy we desire, that’s when we must look to God for the way in order to obtain said settlement.
Jacob and Laban looked to God for justice after they both wronged each other in one way or another. They looked to him in order to make things right and afterward made a pact with their settlements and made a sacrifice to God solidifying the pact. This again shows God’s mercy and justice given to us in the form of the cross of sacrificing Jesus is one and only son whom he loved, in order for us to have a life for him. Giving both justice and mercy may seem impossible at times, and it may be depending on the circumstance. When we encounter such circumstances, we must look to God for what is to be done if we are to do anything at all or wait for him to do or say something to us. Look to God for his justice and mercy for he knows what is right and he alone is the best judge there ever will be. Trust him with these decisions and decision with your life and know everything will be Okay, Amen!!!!