We hear a lot about God's mercy but what is God's justice? Many Christians cringe when Pat Robertson talks about God's justice and tells us that it is God's justice and his judgement when natural disasters happen.A friend of mine and fellow blogger, Sarah Babbs recently wrote an excellent, well written blog about God's justice here. Sarah and I don't always see eye to eye on things but I agree with her in this article. She quotes Amos 5:24 about God's justice being like mighty waters and an ever-flowing stream.
What I have come to realize however is God's justice doesn't always look the way I think it should look. Those "mighty waters" can bring conversion of heart for those who do not resist.
One experience that helped me see God's justice differently is a time I was on a retreat. There was a woman there who was not very kind. She was rude to me and I felt belittled by her. At one point I went into the chapel and cried out to the Lord. I heard him say, "Don't worry about Jane (not her real name). She's a Martha. I will take care of her!"
That evening, we had a time of praise and worship. The Holy Spirit ended up falling on this woman and struck her like lightning, sending her to the floor. She was on the floor for hours, wailing and she literally could not get up. I think God was sitting on her.
That wasn't necessarily my idea of what God's justice should look like toward that woman but it is exactly what needed to happen for her to have a change of heart. The Lord needed to get to the inner places of her heart and bring healing and that is what he sovereignly did.
Joel 2:31 talks about the great and terrible day of the Lord. It will be great for those who call on the Lord's name but terrible for those who resist him.
The Lord's mercy and justice are two sides of the same coin and you can't have one without the other. For those who open their heart to the Lord, his magnificence is merciful and cleansing. For those who resist, his magnificence is very frightening and painful.
