Justice ...

Wednesday, July 29, 2015. Justice is a key topic of life. If you are treated in an unfair way, you want justice. If you are hurt, justice is needed. If someone cheats or if you face fraud, you need justice. If you suffer from the actions of others, justice is important. Why should you be treated different than others? Justice is a key and important topic of our daily life!

How to gain justice? …

How do we gain justice. It can be quite some fight. Justice in human societies did not come for nothing. It takes struggle - the struggle of many. It needs transparent structures. Today we often have split power between execution (politics), jurisdiction and further entities, following philosophers like Locke and Montesquieu. Justice needs a balance of interest, of people, of power.

In Psalm 9, king David talks about justice, and he links it to the Lord, to the eternal God. Only God has enough power, to fully establish justice. Only God is pure enough to carry it out. David is happy about God being an active God, who interfered with his life and helped justice to succeed. Let us listen:

1 1 To the choirmaster: according to Muth-labben.2 A Psalm of David. I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. 2 I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. 3 When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish before3 your presence. 4

For you have maintained my just cause; you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment.

5 You have rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish; you have blotted out their name forever and ever. 6 The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins; their cities you rooted out; the very memory of them has perished.

7 But the Lord sits enthroned forever; he has established his throne for justice, 8 and he judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with uprightness. 9 The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. 10 And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. (Psalm 9, 1-10)

What about me? …

There are two perspectives about justice when it comes to me. First, I am the object of justice, I might suffer from others. I am the one who needs to be treated in a just way. I am the object which receives justice and fairness from others.

But second, I am the subject of justice. I am someone acting, talking, walking. I am an active part of the world, and as such I need to act in a just way, I need to be fair. My failures towards others are injustice. If I hurt them, treat them badly, lie, cheat, or just ignore their needs … all this is summarized in the words injustice and evil.

The bible does not leave any doubt that all humans need forgiveness. We all lack the justice we need. Either by ignorance or by intention we do things, which bring the death of injustice into our life. Here, God has placed Jesus and his death at the cross at the center of his message: he gains justice for you. Accept what you are, come to reality, come to Jesus, and you will be healed and reconciled with God. This is a deep and heavy point, it can be a starting point of new life, of a renewal which touches all layers of our self and our existence. Justice comes, through Jesus! (RWEP) ... more texts