Love and Justice: A Point of Tension?
We have looked at many characteristics of God over the last several weeks. By no means have we began to cover them all. However, there are two that we might see as conflicting with one another. These two being love and justice. How do these two interrelate?
First, we need to restate the truth about God. He is a unified, integrated being whose personality is a harmonious whole. There should be, then, no tension among any of these attributes. But is this really so? Good question, glad you asked!
The one point of possible tension usually singled out is the relationship between God's love and His justice. On one hand, God's justice seems so severe, requiring the death of those who sin. This is a fierce, harsh God. On the other hand, God is merciful, gracious, forgiving, long-suffering. Are not these two sets of traits in conflict with one another? Is there, then, internal tension in God's nature? 1
Since God is an integrated being and the divine attributes are harmonious, we will define the attributes in the light of one another. Thus, justice is loving justice and love is just love. The idea that they conflict may have resulted from defining these attributes in isolation from one another. While the conception of love apart from justice, for example, may be derived from outside sources, it is not a biblical teaching.
What I am saying is that love is not fully understood unless seen as including justice.
If love does not include justice, it would define love as merely granting what someone else desires, which is not is not biblical. It runs into two difficulties:
(1) Giving someone what would make him or her comfortable for the moment may be nothing more than indulging that person's impulse or whim— such action may not necessarily be right.
(2) Love defined as granting what someone else desires is usually an emotional reaction to an individual or situation that is immediately at hand. But love is much wider in scope—it necessarily entails justice.
Justice is simply love distributed. It is love to all one's neighbors, those immediately present and those not. Justice means that love must always be shown, whether or not a situation of immediate need presents itself.
So what is love in the biblical sense? Love in the biblical sense, then, is not merely to indulge someone near at hand. Rather, it inherently involves justice as well. This means there will be a concern for the ultimate welfare of all humanity, a passion to do what is right, and enforcement of appropriate consequences for wrong action. 2
Actually, love and justice have worked together in God's dealing with the human race. God's justice requires that there be payment of the penalty for sin. God's love, however, desires humans to be restored to fellowship with him. The offer of Jesus Christ as the atonement for sin means that both the justice and the love of God have been maintained. Love to all in Christ!
Pastor Mike
(602) 510-5563
