Justice

Justice
Friday, January 1, 2021 by Unknown

Currently, Justice is the most precious thing in the world. Where justice is missing revolution erupts as people seek a correction. We’ve seen immigrant caravans from Central America; Heard of failed socialist regimes in Venezuela; experience the #metoo movement where sexual harassment victims finally found the power to stand against their abusers; watched the Roman Catholics wrangle with Priests who use their positional power to sexually abuse; etc. Life is difficult when Justice is absent. Consider my father's story.

His first employment took him to Crossett, Arkansas in the 1920’s when it was a Mill-Town. Everyone in the town worked for the mill and everyone working there was forced to spend their money in the company store or forfeit their job. For the rest of his life, my father pursued justice for the working-man within the Labor Union. He came to Camden in 1928 for the primary purpose of organizing the new paper mill. He became the President of the Local Union and his name was on the cornerstone of the Labor Temple. His early experience of injustice made him a crusader for such his whole life.

The scripture says that Justice is the foundation of the Lord’s throne (Ps. 89:14); that the Lord prefers Justice over sacrifice (Pro. 21:3). When the King assigned judges he instructed them to rule as if the Lord God watched over them (2Chr. 19:5-11). This is extreme accountability.

For Christians this point goes to the heart. This same Lord God is the judge over us all. He knows the thoughts and intents of the heart. Nothing is hidden, all things are open to his gaze (Heb. 4:12,13).

When the Justice each one applies is wielded with this in mind, it comes out right--actually righteously. Each of us is a Judge. Justice begins individually and reaches to the extremes of society, culture, nations, and even space. The old saw is that charity begins at home. In this day the emphasis must be upon Justice beginning with the heart. Each one of us takes the position as judge as we go from work-place to worship-place to every place. When we rule with the knowledge that the Lord watches over us with his penetrating yet loving eyes, we can apply true justice to the situations we face. This is how Justice can roll down like water and righteousness like a flowing stream (Amos 5:24). Without this heart-level justice from God, we face the chaos of the abyss with no means of illuminating it.