Is There True Justice in Our World?

Gordon Green, M.Div., M.A. Counseling

It’s an illusive word that often evokes a strong emotional response. If you have read the headlines over the past year, there has been
much concern and outrage over unjust treatment of minorities. For the person seeking justice, there is almost always a backstory of loss, hurt, and anger.
For those administering justice, there can be enormous pressure to “get it right.” And for those accused of unjust behavior, there is fear of “trial by public opinion.” Rarely, if ever, do all parties to the alleged crime feel that justice has been served. So what can we do about it? Can true justice be obtained? In his book, True Paradox, Dr. David Skeel contends that while the law will never transform us, there is hope in the One who is the source of true justice. Skeel writes:

Only the reconciliation with God that Jesus made possible through his suffering on our behalf can do that—a reconciliation achieved at precisely the moment when law and legal process most spectacularly failed. But Christianity also teaches that the universe will one day be put to right, not by us but by God, and that our contributions to justice are a foreshadowing, and maybe even a tiny but indelible part, of the true justice for which the universe was designed. (p135, True Paradox)

Now, but not yet. We can see glimpses of true justice when we, as Christ’s ambassadors, do our “tiny but indelible part” to defend the oppressed and bind the wounds of the injured. And when Jesus returns in His glory, He will make all things new, ridding the earth of sin and its trail of indiscriminate persecution and suffering. So let us not be discouraged by headlines that disparage true justice. For we put our faith in the One who suffered unjust punishment and death on our behalf, and He will set the record straight!