In the world today, we see people craving justice. It has me asking, “What does the bible say about justice?” Can justice and love exist together? The answer is, ABSOLUTELY!
We were all created in God’s image and deserve the same love. Easier said than done, I do believe. As I think about the state of our country, I cannot hels but think of such a great divide and how far we have come from the idea of loving your neighbor with no exception. However, with God’s love there is always HOPE! As Christians, we are called to righteousness. Simply put, treat others as the image of God that they are with dignity and respect. Righteousness and justice are very important to God.
Last Sunday, Amy and I shared a video from The Bible Project with the youth that helped to define justice in the biblical sense. These videos are a wonderful tool to understand the bible better and, oftentimes, I find them useful in my own personal growth and faith journey. I have attached a link to the video on Justice and encourage you to take the 6 minutes to watch.
Oftentimes we think of justice as someone who did something wrong dealing with the appropriate consequence. However, it is so important to also view justice in the way God created it… making a path for the oppressed and loving our neighbor. When we see injustice, groups and individuals being treated unfairly, we are called to make a path to love them in God’s image, provide them with respect, and gift them the dignity they deserve. A couple of the verses shared in the video that I found enlightening on this topic were:
“Thus says the Lord: Bring about JUSTICE and RIGHTEOUSNESS. Rescue the disadvantaged, and don’t tolerate oppression or violence against the immigrant, the orphan, and the widow.” – Jeremiah 22:3
And, “The Lord God upholds JUSTICE for the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free. He loves the RIGHTEOUS… But he thwarts the way of the wicked.” Psalm 146:7-9
When we dive into justice in the Bible, we see that loving our neighbor without exception is the radical way of life we are called to. Restorative justice is love for the oppressed and love of mercy. May we walk humbly in the presence of God, loving without exception.
– Sarah Cohea, Edmond Campus Director of Youth Ministry
https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/justice
