Broken Justice

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. 

Our theme for Lent 2014 devotionals at Grace Lutheran Pocatello is “Broken”.  This week we will examine “Broken Justice.” How often have you uttered the words, “This is not fair?” All too often in the world we live it is the mantra of those who feel oppressed. Whether someone feels they were mistreated in a business deal, or they were offended by the words of another, or possibly they were dealt with harshly for a perceived (or real) offense it does not matter. We establish in our own minds what is fair. Fair is subjective depending on emotions or an opportunity to tip the scales in our favor perhaps. 

As we enter the home stretch of Lent in 2014 I offer a suggestion. Take some time and read the Book of Daniel. Sure, it is a book in the Old Testament and Lent is definitely a new testament topic. Given that many parts of Lent are steeped in elements found in the Old Testament, we can learn much of the blessing of Lent. Even in “any enlightened nation” men who are wise in the knowledge of the world will fail to look at the past for lessons learned in how God dispenses justice for those who reject Him and His Son. God, our Father in Heaven is a loving God. His boundless love is right there for all to grasp, even those who reject Him out of pride or ignorance. He loves us so much He sent His only Son to die for the sins of all, that all mankind might be reconciled to Him. We will look at “justice” in the devotionals. There have been many promises made, and broken by man. There have been opportunities to serve the Lord that have turned horribly wrong. Some in the past have chosen to figuratively spit in the face of God and suffered harsh consequences. If we were to receive the justice we deserve based on our own doings, we would be in a sorry state. Fortunately, that is not the case. 

For many Lent can be a season of self-examination and reflection of our lives. In many cases the life we want to live, possibly should live, is not the same as the life we are living. In that moment of realization despair can find way into the heart. Satan is relentless in trying to drive a wedge in our faith and place distance between God our Father and ourselves. Self-examination is a good and proper exercise. But doing so must be done with all the facts on the table. We know that we have been rescued from sins of the present evil age by the willing sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. We enter Lent knowing that Christ died on the cross for our sins, was placed in a tomb and on Easter that tomb was found to be empty. That is the hope we grasp onto every single second, minute, hour, day and year of our lives. We are forgiven and have the promise of eternal life in Christ Jesus. That is the message of Lent this year. We who are broken have been repaired.

My prayer is that your time in study of God’s Word and these devotionals will truly be blessed. To God be all the glory in all that we do today and everyday of our lives.