FOOD FOR YOUR JOURNEY

30 August

JUSTICE

….Who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? Have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.

Isaiah 45:21-23

Our Scripture reading for today begins with God asking the Gentiles if their idols are of any use whatsoever. He asks them to explain why they set up these things which are made of wood and then bow down to them to pray. (see v20)

A Godly man who preached regularly in the streets of India was once asked how he could reconcile the death of Jesus Christ for men – the death of the guiltless for the guilty – with the justice of God.

He replied:

Our ideas of the justice of God, or of justice at all, are very crude indeed and very imperfect. For example a man steals 20 rupees and spends it. He is caught and punished as a thief. But the stolen money is not restored to the man from whom it was stolen – justice is not done to him; and the thief suffers for his crime. This is man’s justice. LOSS and PAIN. Or suppose a man was to kill three children. He should be hanged 3 times that strict justice is seen to be done. The children are not restored to life – justice is not done to them. Neither are they restored to their parents or to the community. The man who killed them is put to death. Thus man’s justice again is resolved into LOSS and PAIN.

But God’s justice is different. It results in GAIN and JOY. Lost souls are found. Losses are made good, happiness takes the place of misery, and all because the Son of God gave Himself a willing sacrifice to save and restore them to God.

• Jesus came to where man was.
• Born among the beasts.
• The Saviour had to come to where man was to rescue him.
• He came to a cradle – Low!
• He came to a pillow-less bed – Lower!
• He came to The Cross – The Lowest!
• After the Cross, He was raised, raised to the Highest!

My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.

Isaiah 55:8

Look unto me and be ye saved, all ye ends of the earth for I am God and there is none else.

Isaiah 45:22