Spirituality

The world’s idea of justice and freedom fall short of their purpose. Prison bars keep the guilty from repeating their crime while behind them. They cannot change the person. Freedom comes with a price. We have to take responsibility for our actions. We are never free from the tensions of living on the earth. We must pay the price of making a living and existing among people of different temperaments and cultures. Being in Christ is the perfect answer because he has already paid the price for our sins.

We say that justice has been done when the guilty have been punished, or the innocent has been absolved of guilt. But what if after the guilty one has served his time in prison, he goes back and commits the same crime? Has justice been victorious? Incarceration does not equal rehabilitation. The use of force alone does not always persuade one to change his ways. It sometimes causes them to be even more determined to continue with their evil ways.

Little justice is done when they are released as fast as they are arrested. The revolving door policy makes a mockery of justice. There is the problem of overcrowding in prisons and some have to be turned loose before finishing their punishment.

The only true justice is if the guilty are made to change their ways and become useful citizens. Jesus changes from the inside. He alters one’s purpose by changing the value system. All criminals know that if they are caught they will be punished, though they think they will evade their captors. Suppose they could be persuaded that there is one that there is no way they can get away from? That he has absolute knowledge of everything they ever thought, said, or did?

Jesus changes lives by making people come to grips with the truth. When one accepts the truth, he doesn't go back to the mire, he is set free to pursue a fresh new life. Morality and compassionate living cannot be forced by law. Such virtues must come from the inside, compelled by one’s own conscience after learning the Lord’s ways.

Law breakers, who are healed by the Lord, no longer lead a life of running and looking over their shoulders; they are set free to a new life, where fear is replaced by peace of mind. The weak are set free because they don't have to rely on their own strength. They can depend on his. Addicts and alcoholics are set free from depending on artificial stimulants; they are now on a spiritual high. All of us are set free from the bondage of sin. We don't have to carry that burden anymore. He will give us one that is more our size to carry for him.

If you were on trial, how would it make you feel if your lawyer turned out to be your judge and the same individual had already been punished for your crime. Would you get the idea that the deck was stacked in your favor? That's exactly the point Paul is making in Romans 8:33. And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God's chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us! —is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us?

We want justice in this world, but on the day of judgement we won’t want justice we will want mercy. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. We deserve to be punished, but if we have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus, we will receive the joys of heaven—the grace of God that we don’t deserve.

This was written to spread the news of the freedom Jesus gives. Please publish it liberally. The resource box must be left intact. It is adapted from Lynn Bradley’s yet unpublished book, “The Way to God’s House.”

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