There is a great deal of injustice in the world.  We see wicked men and women gain power and wealth through the wickedness they do.  We see husbands and wives abandon their spouses who trusted them and loved them.  Parents neglect their children or even do them harm, preferring the pleasure of the moment over a lifetime of joy.  Neighbors do violence to neighbors and to the property of others simply because they can.  Nations crush smaller nations, corporations crush individuals, large groups persecute and harm smaller groups.

Any of us can quickly add to the list of wrongs in the world.  All of us have been touched by injustice.  And very likely, all of us have practiced injustice at some time in our lives.

Young David had a lot of time, while hiding out from King Saul, to think about such things.  And he also had the chance to see the end of those who willingly wronged others.  He even saw the fruit of his own mistreatment of others.  In Psalm 37, he eventually wrote:

Do not fret because of evildoers,

Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.

For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,

And wither as the green herb.

Trust in the LORD, and do good;

Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

Delight yourself also in the LORD,

And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the LORD,

Trust also in Him,

And He shall bring it to pass.

He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,

And your justice as the noonday.

Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him;

Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,

Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.

Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;

Do not fret—it only causes harm.

For evildoers shall be cut off;

But those who wait on the LORD,

They shall inherit the earth.

(Psalm 37:1-9)

The Bible is very clear, from beginning to end: There is a God in the heavens who sets right -- and will set right -- every wrong.  There is a God in the heavens who weighs every thought, every intent, and every action of those who live -- and of who have lived, or ever will live -- upon this earth.  There is a God in the heavens who will comfort all who mourn because of the evil done in this lifetime.

And there is a place set aside in the heavens for everyone who loves righteousness and for all who trust in the Lord.  Even the earth itself will be renewed, made new all over again, and all that is wrong and corrupted and ruined by evil will vanish away forever.

God did not simply choose one day to try and make some things right.  God did not decide one day that He would try to be fair.  It is the very nature of God to be righteous, fair, decent and just.  God is the One who makes everything right, because God cannot be otherwise.  He cannot tolerate an unbalanced universe, an unbalanced life.  The picture of Justice with her scales gives us a good idea of God’s nature -- except that He is not blinded by anything at all.  Just the opposite is true.  God sees everything in the most minute detail.

When Jesus walked this earth as a human being, He set things right wherever He went.  Crooked arms and hands were made straight again at His word.  Twisted backs were made strong and right again.  Funerals were broken up by the restoration of life, mourning was turned to rejoicing.  Ruined skin was healed, blinded eyes were opened, diseased bodies were made whole.  Hungry and needy people were filled.  Demons were forced by the sheer will and word of Jesus Christ to abandon their victims. 

And that’s not all.

False ideas were exposed for everyone to see what they were -- false, ignorant and even silly. Hypocrisy was revealed for what it was.  Greed was uncovered wherever it was found.  Empty traditions were shown to be truly empty and powerless.  The Lord gave out truth and thereby set the record straight for anyone with ears to hear.  Wherever Jesus went, whenever He opened His mouth, the dividing line between light and darkness was made clear.

What we see in the earthly ministry of Jesus is the promise of God that one day everything will be made right forever.  All unsolved murders will be solved.  Every secret sin will be exposed.  The righteous choices that no one else ever knew about will be made evident to all.  Secret prayers, secret curses, secret lusts, secret kindnesses -- everything will be made visible to everyone.  There will be no secrets on the day of God’s reckoning, the day of God’s accounting.  I suspect that it may be a very long day for some of us.

Our God is righteous through and through.  Our God is more than fair.  And He has also made it clear to anyone who knows Him that He wants us to be fair and good and right.  He is not interested in our religion, our show of goodness.  But He is very interested in our genuine kindness to everyone around us, and in our compassion on all who need us.

Our religious words and beliefs are not the light that shatters the darkness.  Our religious habits do not break down the power of demons.  But our pure love and kindness and help will break the devil’s back. 

Jesus was the very Son of God.  He came here to speak the truth and to die for the sins of the world.  But wherever He went, people were made whole by the genuine compassion which overflowed from His heart to everyone.

When we truly open our hearts to God’s love, and His compassion flows from His Spirit into and through our hearts to others, we will see profound changes in the people who were once bound by darkness and despair.  God’s love gives anyone hope and a reason to believe.  Not empty good works, but a heart filled with God’s goodness.

We will be taken advantage of in this life.  We will be mistreated.  But we can overcome evil with good, if we understand that God Himself will take care of us. 

We do not need to take revenge on the people who have used us wrongfully.  We are set free by the promises of God to do good instead.  Because God gives us real hope and a song, we have hope and a song to share with others. 

And the world around us needs real hope and a real song.

Jim