Great ideas……great goals.

But, the simple truth is this:

Justice and mercy are often in conflict. Often……if not usually……..justice and mercy are polar opposites.

And yet…….both justice and mercy are clearly important in the Bible……..both must be important……to God.

Justice: the guy who hurt me……or my family……or my friend……..gets the punishment that he deserves.

Mercy: when I mess up…….God forgives me.

Justice is driven by the unbiased application of the rules.

Mercy is driven by the undiluted application of love.

Justice is the central theme in the old testament.

Mercy is the central theme of the new testament.

Justice, in the old testament, is often achieved by the death of the wrongdoer.

Mercy, in the new testament, is achieved by the death…………..and resurrection………..of God himself.

From God’s perspective, old testament justice was pretty cheap. One lightning bolt…….a dash of fire and brimstone………..a quick stoning……and done. New Testament mercy, however, is an entirely different kettle of fish. The price of God’s mercy was…….is……..unimaginable. God watched his only son……..a son whom he loved……..die a death that redefines gruesome.

I have to believe……..based its cost to God…….that mercy is more important to God than justice. At least I hope so. Because……..I am in no position to face God’s justice………and neither are you.

When I think of mercy, I am usually focused on me and God’s love for me. When I think of justice, I am usually focused on the other guy………and the rules.

I don’t have a clue how God balances these two ideals in eternity……and, fortunately, that is not something that I have to sort out.

So…..instead…….my thought for today is:

“How do I……..how do we……balance justice and mercy…….in this broken world?”

Clearly, there are people in this world who are so evil that they must be kept in cages to protect the rest of us…….justice.

But, the vast majority of the time, I believe that mercy is a better problem solving tool.

I have decided to leave justice, in this world, to a deeply flawed criminal justice system as it struggles to sort and punish evil. In eternity, I will leave justice to God.

In a word……..justice is not my business……..justice is above my pay grade.

In my life……..I will focus on mercy. I will hope for and trust in God’s mercy in his dealings with me. And, I will apply mercy in my dealings with my neighbors……….as much as is possible.

I think that a good first step……..is to pray for the politicians whom I disagree with. Maybe after that I can find the strength…….and mercy……to pray for the truly evil people on this planet.

This will not be easy……….but I doubt that it was easy for God to watch Jesus on the cross…….the cross…….where justice and mercy meet.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Jesus, ESV

Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

Paul, ESV

Mercy triumphs over judgment.

James, ESV

what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?

Micah, ESV

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

Max Ehrmann, Desiderata

We live in a society that once was open……..even welcoming…….. to Christianity. Now, however, more and more, our society is hostile to Christianity. The number of places where our faith is simply not allowed grows every day. We have largely been run out of our schools and universities. Our government, at best, gives us a small corner and tolerates us…….as long as we stay in our corner. At worst, the laws of our nation are used to marginalize us. The media is becoming more and more hostile. I quit watching a popular crime drama years ago because Christians were consistently portrayed as angry judgemental hypocrits.

This animus toward Christians seems to center on a small core of people who are openly hostile to us. But our neighbors and our government seem to be OK with it. At the very least, they are silent.

The first irony is that our detractors are the same people who tell us we need to be more tolerant. They tell us that we must be more open to new ideas………as they silence us in the schools. Today, in our schools, it permissible, even encouraged, to teach young people that your sex is whatever you want it to be. Anything that you do in the sphere of sex is OK. But, if you try to teach the idea that you are valued and loved by God, your creator……..just as you are, our government will punish you……and the school that allowed you a platform.

But, as bad as this is………this is not the greatest irony.

For us, as Christians, our future, our eternal destiny, is absolutely secure. We will spend our eternity with our creator…….our father……Abba. Our most vocal detractors……..the people who would silence us in the public conversation……..do not have that assurance. At best, they try to silence us because we annoy them. At worst, they are troubled by the possibility……..that we might be right. In between are the rest of our neighbors who sit by in silence………who are tacitly OK with selling the transgender agenda in our schools but are comfortable with excluding salvation by faith.

So…….the truly great irony is this:

We have nothing to gain or lose by promoting our faith in the public square. We win…..one way or the other. The only possible winners from our attempts to “sell” our faith…….to evangelize…….are the very friends and neighbors who actively……..or more often passively try to silence us. The truly great irony?…….Our most aggressive detractors are those who have the most to gain from our efforts.

Our most aggressive detractors……..our most angry and vocal critics…….are those who have the most to gain from our efforts to sell Christianity in the public arena.

So…….what to do?

When I face a dilemma, I usually go back to the basics.

Love God……love your neighbor

Love God…….tells me to keep selling him to those around me. After loving God and loving my neighbor, this is my next most important job.

Love my neighbor……..tells me to do it with care and kindness. Do it in a way that they will clearly understand……that it is a gift…..to and exclusively for…….them……that it profits me not one bit. Love tells me to sell salvation by faith…..even if it costs me.

That is, after all, the lesson of the cross.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Jesus, ESV

“everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?”

Paul, ESV

But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,

Peter, ESV

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

Isaiah, ESV

We deal with fear every day. Usually, it is small things; but, often it is the fear of a major disaster. Fear is our natural response to risk. And risk is the possibility of an impending problem……..possibly a disaster.

Human nature is complex. There are many things that we do very well. Assesing risk, however, is not one of them. We tend to give more weight to risks that are near……and less weight to risks that are more remote. We do this even when the remote risk is the more dire. We are more worried about being late for work than we are worried about our employer closing down.

We also have a penchant for simply ignoring risks. There are many reasons: We just don’t want to do the work needed to avoid the risk. The risk runs contrary to our politics……..contrary to the people we have chosen as leaders. Perhaps dealing with the risk requires us to do something that we don’t want to do…….or stop doing something that we want to do.

Because we do not prioritize…….we do not stratify……risk well, we fear inaccurately.

I have often said, “If you are going to worry…….at least worry accurately “.

So……here is an exercise in worrying accurately. Make a list of the things that you fear today…….the risks that you face…….the things that you are worried about…..today.

Bills
Your children
Covid-19
The mid term election
Car troubles
Black mold in your basement

These risks share a common feature……..they are temporal. They are limited to our physical world. They are limited to our lifetimes. Every one of them will be gone…..resolved, in a few years……when we die. For me, these risks will simply expire…….in about 20 years. It may be longer for you. It may be shorter for me. But, these risks will all go away…..soon.

Because these risks are self limited, our fears about these risks should also be limited……..by time if nothing else. These risks…..and our fears are entirely temporal.

Now consider one more risk. This one is more remote. And this one, unfortunately, is not limited……by time……or by anything else.

Hell

The fact that hell is eternal means that this risk is infinite. The fact that hell is irrevocable means that it cannot be fixed.

I propose that an irrevocable, eternal, infinite risk belongs at the top of your list of risks……..way ahead of any temporal risk.

I propose that hell belongs at the top of the list of things that you fear.

In fact, the gap between hell and the number 2 risk on your list is so great that compared to it, all of your other worries……all of your other fears……are inconsequential.

The Bible gives us cyrstal clear guidance on the topic of fear. Over and over it tells us not to worry…..not to fear temporal risks.

Then…….over and over………the Bible tells us to fear God. And we really don’t like that. We want God to be a kind……gentle, soft focus kind of guy who bails us out of trouble…….and he is. God is the God of paradise. But……God is also the God of hell. The Bible repeatedly tells us to worry……..about eternal risks…….about hell.

God rules hell……..not Satan. Satan knows what is coming for him……and he is terrified……Satan has his risk stratification nailed down cold. He is worried about one thing……..hell.

So……ironically…….there is something that we can learn from Satan. Like Satan, we really only have one thing to fear………hell.

When the Bible repeatedly tells us to fear God, it is a reminder that we are barreling toward a fork in the road……..a fork that God, not Satan, is in control of. One day we will round a corner and there it will be. No time to brake. No chance to decide. The decision at that point is up to God. And God’s decision will hinge on a single decision that we have already made. Do we humble ourselves and accept God’s sovereignty……..or do we wear the crown ourselves.

So, if we get our risk stratification right, we take steps today to be sure that we are lined up for the safe side of the fork in the road……the fork that is our ultimate destiny…..our true destiny.

Or…….we could just ignore or deny the risk……and hope that we are right.

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell……..So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Jesus, ESV

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

David, ESV

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on.”

Matthew, ESV

I know a woman………she and her husband packed their family up and flew halfway around the world to spread the word of God in a country that is not nearly as comfortable as America. They run their lives on a plan. It is a surprisingly complicated plan. The hoops that they have had to jump through to get to……and to stay in their new home country are mind boggling. But, the plan is a good plan and the plan is working.

I’m a big fan of making a plan and following it through. I too made a plan and followed it through: college, med school, residency, then 35 years with one practice, and finally…….a comfortable retirement. In many ways she and I have followed the same strategy. But, there is a key difference.

She is following God’s plan……..and I am following mine.

Every step along the way, I have asked the question, “will this decision, this choice, promote my interests?” Every step along the way, she has asked, “will this decision, this choice, promote God’s interests?”

And I have come to understand that this dichotomy is a major threat to Christianity. It is a threat to the heart and the soul of the Christian. Christianity asks us to run our plan by God and to conform our plan to his plan. Human nature tells us that we can figure it out…….without God’s interference. Human nature tells us that our plan is better than God’s plan. It is no accident that our plan happens to lead us to a pleasant, comfortable place. Sometimes God’s plan does not…….at least not right away.

And so…….we put ourselves in charge. We execute our plan. And when our plan conflicts with God’s plan……we push God off into the corner. The danger here, is that after pushing God off onto the corner for long enough, we stop thinking about him…….we stop talking to him……we stop asking his advice. We stop allowing him to interfere with our plan. Oh, we let him out of his corner for an hour on Sunday……if that…….and then tell ourselves that we are “a good person”.

I’m not saying that you have to pack up your stuff and head to Africa. But, I think that we could all profit, if we would spend more time talking to God……listening to God……..and asking his advice. I think that we could all profit, if we worked harder to conform our plan…….to God’s plan.

The culture will say that I am sucessful…….and that she is not. The culture rewards me with a position of status….and her……not so much. But I can’t help but wonder if that calculus will hold up…….after we cross over to eternity. I have a sneaking suspicion that……in eternity…….in paradise…….our positions will be reversed.

So, perhaps a little late in the game, I am bending my plan…….just a little……..to bring it a bit closer……..to God’s plan.

“So……the last will be first and the first last.”

Jesus, ESV

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Jesus, ESV