Merciful Justice

We love justice, don't we?
Right now local stations are showing much of Casey Anthony's trial because people are interested in seeing that justice is done.
We love seeing the good guy win in the movies. We will even root for those who are breaking laws if we see their cause as just.
Justice is important to us because we are created by a just God. The only problem we seem to have is when that justice starts applying to us personally.

I recently heard someone state that we complain when God applies His mercy to some and not others, but we are perfectly happy when He doesn't apply His justice equally. This is such a false statement. God IS just. That means He must apply His justice equally to all. If it is only for some, it isn't justice. Justice means that the same rules go for everyone. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The wages of sin is death." We ALL deserve death in whatever way it comes, whenever it comes. God is not unfair when He allows people to die. He is just. Perfectly just.

God's mercy allows us to wake each morning. God's mercy allows us joy, happiness, peace and prosperity. Every second of every day is a merciful gift from a merciful loving God. That doesn't mean that God is required to continue to show mercy to anyone. If it is a requirement, it is not mercy. Just because God has shown an incredible amount of patience, love, and mercy to His creation does not mean that it must always be so. We don't deserve any of it. We deserve Hell for our sin against a perfect, holy God. We have rebelled against him and should be punished.

Does that mean that people in Haiti were more sinful than the rest of us? Are the Japanese more rebellious? Is Joplin full of the most heinous sins? NO. It means that we should look at these deaths and fall on our knees in repentance. God has shown us mercy in allowing us today, let's not waste the gift. Stop confusing mercy with justice. God is both, and in His mercy, sometimes He reminds us of just what we deserve, so that we will remember just what we have been given.