The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression …

— Numbers 14:18

We want justice. We want everything to be fair. God is a just God, and we tend to know deep down what is right. In God’s justice, He will by no means clear the guilty. Because He is a just God, He must punish evil. We have all fallen short and what we need is not justice, but mercy. So Christianity is beyond fair. God does not treat us as we deserve. He is a God of mercy. Justice would not be good for us.

Christianity is not just. Christ didn’t come to bring us justice; He came to save us from justice. If any one of gets justice, we would be condemned. That is what we deserve. “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

There are some in our midst who think that they have nothing to worry about on judgment day. No, they don’t need Christ, thank you very much. “Religion is just a crutch for the weak,” they say. They don’t recognize the magnitude of their sins before a holy God. They will be in for a great shock when they stand before the Lord when He returns.

But if you know Jesus personally, you recognize that without His shed blood at Calvary, you would have no hope. You would only be staring God’s justice in the face, with no hope for mercy.

Praise be to God for sending us Jesus Christ and for forgiving our sins and extending mercy to us.

Question to ponder:
God’s mercy is new every morning. And His justice never sleeps. Reflect on the relationship between justice and mercy.