Justice: the quality of being just; righteousness, equitableness, or moral rightness; rightfulness or lawfulness, as of a claim or title; justness of ground or reason; the administering of deserved punishment or reward.
We live in a morally corrupt, spiritually bankrupt, conscience depleted, evil world. It takes only minutes of watching the daily news, one trip outside of our front door even, a glance at poverty, slavery, and injustice against human beings to know that this is true. In my almost 35 years on this planet, I’ve traveled around quite a bit, I’ve seen devastation and evil and injustice like I never could have imagined existed, and still, my eyes in large part have been sheltered from much of the evil in this world.
“Haughty eyes and a proud heart—
the unplowed field of the wicked—produce sin.” Proverbs 21:4
“The wicked crave evil;
their neighbors get no mercy from them.” Proverbs 21:10
“The proud and arrogant person—“Mocker” is his name—
behaves with insolent fury.” Proverbs 21:24
But, one day…
As we pour over Proverbs 21 today, I’m given a powerful and timely reminder of the hope which we possess in Jesus Christ. All other religions are void of this hope. All other pursuits our wanting of this hope. All other paths, while perhaps somewhat fulfilling, can never satisfy the soul like this hope can. And here it is:
One day, our God will make all things right.
Proverbs 21 begins and ends with mention of “the LORD.” What is so beautiful about that is how it serves as almost bookends to the rest of the chapter which highlights the need for justice because we live in such an unjust world. The point? While it may seem that evil runs rampant without restraint, and while that might cause us to wonder, “Where is Jesus in this?”…it all begins with Jesus, and my friends, please don’t forget the end of our story: It will all end with our victorious Jesus Christ!
Our hope that we possess in this sin-sick world that only seems bent on more sin is this: One day, our God, the God of justice, will make all things right. Evil will not go unpunished. Unrighteousness has not missed His ever-watchful gaze. Abuse, injustice, and all forms of wickedness will reap the consequences of what they have sown. Jesus and His justice will forever reign, and there is hope on this side of heaven to be known and embraced because of that.
“When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous
but terror to evildoers.” Proverbs 21:15
“There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan
that can succeed against the Lord.” Proverbs 21:30
So, while we wait, while we ache in the hurt and long for justice to be served, remember this:
One day is coming far more quickly than we realize, and when it does, let us be found on the side of the faithful.
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