“Do Justice, love mercy and walk humbly” Micah 6:8
At first read, that verse in Micah requires significant mental gymnastics to get one’s head around. Justice and mercy with the over lay of humility seem to be polar opposites but are they really? If ever there was a time for understanding God’s intent for linking those words it may be at this present moment in history.
Theologian, Paul Louis Metzger says, "As those justified by faith in the God of all justice, we are to experience the wholeness he brings and extend it as citizens of his kingdom.” Bringing wholeness, making things right, is at the heart of God's justice. As an individual, one of the greatest injustices I do is to succumb to self-pride. I so easily forget a well-known statement by John Bradford, a sixteenth century martyr. “There but for the grace of God, go I (Paul Harshner),” a paraphrase from 1 Corinthians. Thankfully for me, justice in the eyes of God is to restore wholeness, not bring to bear recrimination or payback.
It would do well for you, me and all of America to insert the Biblical meaning of Justice, to “restore to wholeness.” Maybe, even without entirely understanding, this week took our nation a significant distance toward reestablishing wholeness through the system our brilliant founding fathers created?
Humbly, we owe our wholeness to the God of justice. The one who makes things whole through His free gift of faith, given in love. Be it in a less perfect form, is it possible justice brought a little wholeness to our nation as well?
A prayer for wholeness by John Legend
Please click on the link to listen:
In Christ’s love,
Paul H
