A God of Justice

Written on 09/17/2021
Christian Dunn

Verse:Verse: Matthew 13:36-43 

36 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

37 He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

40 “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

Thoughts
This is a difficult passage. Jesus tells a parable about wheat and weeds, and then explains it (which is the part I included). 

This is not a popular, or easy thought. I don't like to think about it. Do you? But the catch is: Jesus said it. He teaches in several places that at the end of time there will be some kind of division of people: people who are in the Kingdom of God and people who are not.

I think many of us would rather that "everyone gets to be with God in the end." In fact, there are some Christians who have decided that they think the Bible doesn't teach this. Or they think the Bible isn't really the Word of God, so they can get around these passages.

But if you believe that the Bible is intended to teach us about Jesus and what it means to follow him, what do we do with these passages? I think one thing we often miss is that God is not just a God of love, but he is equally a God of justice. He takes sin way more seriously than we do. Does that make him mean? Or does that make him holy? Is God, who created all things, allowed to have standards? Or if he has standards, does that make him a jerk?

Another perspective that we in the West tend to ignore is that it is actually comforting that God will hold evil people accountable. People in other countries who have suffered from genocide or rape or murder do not have the same issues with God's justice as Americans do. Isn't that interesting? They are glad that God will, in the end, set things right. That evil will not prosper, and that those who perpetuate evil will be held accountable in the end.

What do you think about what Jesus says here? And how do you think it should inform your life?

For me, it inspires humility. It reminds me that I am just a man, and he is literally God. This thinking helps me to learn to trust him more, and submit to him more. To say to God - your will be done, not mine. And to live my life in gratitude for all Jesus has done for me.

Prayer
God I thank you that you are a God of justice. Help me to understand this and learn about your justice and love more and more.