Tuesday, July 26, 2016

MERCY vs JUSTICE

This post kind of builds off of the post I wrote in January 2012, Forgiveness. I have been really pondering this stuff for a year. I can honestly say, I am struggling to wrap my mind around it.

Talking about mercy verses justice can get heated. We all have our own ideas on who deserves one or the other. A large majority of us believe that serial killers, rapists, and so on, deserve justice. How many times have we heard in response to a newscast about someone that has done something awful, "I hope s/he rots in hell!" Lots, eh? How many times have we heard the response to that same broadcast, "Oh Jesus! Please shower your mercy on him/her." Probably not lots, and maybe not ever.

We conveniently want mercy for ourselves, and justice for others. We rationalize it by saying, "Well, I would never do something so heinous." What about the person that lies? What about the 15 year old that covets his neighbor's new car? Do those sins deserve justice?

Just a some things that I have been thinking about. I definitely believe there needs to be a balance between the two. But, I am going to let Jesus decide who gets what.





No comments: