So where does mercy enter in? In terms of crime and the results of crime (i.e.
prosecution) it doesn’t. There is
absolutely no question as to our collective or individual guilt in committing
offenses against ourselves, our neighbors, our loved ones, and yes even our
God. We all stand accused. And what is more, we all stand guilty. To determine the punishment we deserve we
need only look at the standard of justice outlined in the Bible. Note, this is the sentence for our crimes,
which we deserve, not necessarily that which we receive.
But God does not change over time. He was no less concerned about mercy in the
days of the Israelite than He is in today’s age. Even back then, at the same time, these other
statements outlining justice were written into law, was a system of mercy
written into the law as well. If you had
a fight with a neighbor and let’s say you did damage to his eye, justice would
require your own eye be damaged as well.
Your neighbor had the right to bring you before a local judge, plead his
case, you could plead yours, and then sentence was passed. However, there was also a loophole
provided. If you fled to a predefined
“sanctuary” city, your punishment could NOT be imposed. You were granted mercy for your crimes,
though you must remain in the city for the rest of your life. In cases of accidental homicide, I’m sure
this system was employed regularly.
But the point is not that you were somehow found
not-guilty. It took the eye-witness
testimony of at least 2 people to convict you in the first place. Taking advantage of “sanctuary” did not
absolve you of your crimes, it only prevented the punishment. But why give killers a way out in the first
place. People who believe God is
obsessed with revenge do not know how to reconcile a complete system of
“sanctuary” He created in His laws for us.
Those who believe strongly in the death penalty often quote the
scripture segment “a life for a life” but do not ever mention “sanctuary”. Those who demand justice, are those who
believe they have been wronged. They
wish to punish others for the misdeeds committed against them. But are they willing to accept their own
punishments?
“How you judge others is how you will be judged.” This scriptural fragment was used by Christ
to remind people of their own role in the justice system. So often, “the wronged”, forget their own
guilt and other crimes. The statement of
Christ to “first remove the log that is within your own eye, before trying to
take the splinter out of your neighbor’s eye”, was intended again as a reminder
to us all, for we are all, both the victims and the perpetrator. We are all the accuser and the accused. Finally Christ told a story about a man who
was forgiven much, but then unmerciful to those who owed him much smaller
debts. Again yet another reminder of
what role we play in the justice system.
We are not supposed to be the prosecutors.
We are not supposed to try to inflict justice or even
fairness on those who do us harm.
Instead we are supposed to show love to them. Christ said to give the thief who steals your
coat, your shirt as well. There is no
justice in that scenario, only love, only mercy. There is no fairness. There is no coat for a coat. So who will demand justice for this thief’s
misdeeds – the only being who really ever demands justice – Satan. Satan is the one who wants to see us punished
for what we do. He instigates some of
it, influences some of it, and just sits back and watches some of it; but he is
relentless in wanting us all punished for it.
He calls on God’s sense of justice and demands fair play, fair
action. He speaks very often through the
mouths of those who accuse. He
demands. The righteous know better, they
beg for mercy.
For we are not righteous because we do good deeds. We do not suffer our deserved punishments
because we have earned some sort of get-out-of-jail-free card from God. We do not suffer what we deserve because we
are not guilty, for we are ALL surely guilty.
First degree, premeditated sin.
But as we humble ourselves, see our guilt, and beg for mercy from a just
God, we are granted it. Our sentence is
pronounced guilty as the law requires, but our punishment is put on the
shoulders of the innocent Christ. And He
willingly takes on our burden of guilt and shame. He carries our burdens through torture and
ultimately to the cross to pay our debt of death. And through His perfect sacrifice our
punishment is marked as paid. We are
forgiven through this and made righteous not because we are inherently
righteous, we are made this way and given this term, by He who gave up His life
to make us so.
Justice demands our extinction. Even what we do to our planet would someday
bring this result were it not for the interference of a loving God. Escaping a well deserved fate can ONLY happen
because our God loved us that much. This
is why we are told not to seek equality in the justice systems on earth. This is why we offer the thief more than he
takes on his own. This is why we forgive
others as we wish to be forgiven. This
is why “sanctuary” cities were created even in the Old Testament times. This is why Christ told the stories and
parables He did. Our goals are not
justice but love. We are not to seek
fairness, but much more than what is fair, that is love. Love is our ambition, love is our goal, love
is greater than justice.
When it gets hard to love, when the wrongs done to you seem
to cry out for justice, when you are hurt, in pain, every natural inclination
is to get even – at these times more than any other – expel the thoughts of
punishing the guilty, and fill your mind with the love that forgave you, and
allows you to forgive those who have wronged you. Nothing that is taken from you, or damaged,
or even killed, can be kept from you forever.
For this life is not the last one those who have been saved by Grace
will ever see. The things you lose here
are meaningless anyway, and the people you lose will one day be returned in
perfect health, in perfection, for all eternity. What is lost is but for a short time. But Love, love is forever.
Who knows maybe the person you wind up forgiving, the person
you wind up loving, might even one day be you …
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