Children of a just God …

We talk a great deal about grace, and for good reason — our eternal lives depends on the grace of God!

But we have gotten to a point where we talk so much of it, and other things, that we speak little of something that is also important about God, and for us — that God is a just God.

I think we often purposely gloss over this topic because we do not want the justice of God for ourselves, we want His mercy, His grace, His love. But God would not be who He is if He were not also just!

It isn’t that we’re wholly opposed to justice, but we’re selective about its implementation … “pro justice” when it’s applied to others, but not so committed to it when we’re on the receiving end, kind of like the story of a golf addict reported by Bits & Pieces:

Once there was a man who was such a golf addict that he was neglecting his job. Frequently he would call in sick as an excuse to play.

One morning, after making his usual call to the office, an angel up above spotted him on the way to the golf course and decided to teach him a lesson.

“If you play golf today, you will be punished,” the angel whispered in his ear.

Thinking it was only his conscience, which he had successfully whipped in the past, the fellow just smiled.

“No,” he said, “I’ve been doing this for years. No one will ever know. I won’t be punished.”

The angel said no more and the fellow stepped up to the first tee where he promptly whacked the ball 300 yards straight down the middle of the fairway. Since he had never driven the ball more than 200 yards, he couldn’t believe it. Yet, there it was. And his luck continued. Long drives on every hole, perfect putting. By the ninth hole he was six under par and was playing near-perfect golf. The fellow was walking on air.

He wound up with an amazing 61, about 30 strokes under his usual game. Wait until he got back to the office and told them about this! But, suddenly, his face fell. He couldn’t tell them. He could never tell anyone.

The angel smiled.

If God is a just God, shouldn’t we as His adopted children also be just? It is God’s desire that we live justly and seek justice …

This message for rebellious Judah is one rebellious America (or wherever you’re at) also needs to hear: “Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows,” Isaiah 1:17.

This psalm of David is a exhortation to live justly we need to embrace: “Turn from evil and do good, and you will live in the land forever. For the Lord loves justice, and he will never abandon the godly. He will keep them safe forever, but the children of the wicked will die,” Psalm 37:27-28.

If we’re to live as children of a just God, what does He want of us? “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God,” Micah 6:8 (NIV).

On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, it’s a good time to reassess whether or not justice is important to us, and to examine if we act justly like our heavenly Father does.

Scotty