Not only is justice deserved, it is often called for.
But where would any of us be without mercy?
Here is a good illustration of both justice and mercy:
One bitterly cold night in January in the 1930s, the Mayor of a large city turned up at a night court that served the poorest area of the city. The Mayor would occasionally come to the court, dismiss the judge for the evening, and take over the bench himself to hear the cases. On this night he did so again, taking off his coat and hat, taking his seat behind the bench, and beginning to hear the various court cases. Within a few minutes, an elderly woman in tattered clothing was brought before him, charged with stealing a loaf of bread. She told the Mayor that her son-in-law had deserted her daughter, her daughter had then become sick, and her two grandchildren were now starving. But the store owner, from whom the bread was stolen, refused to drop the charges. “It’s a bad neighborhood, your Honor,” the man told the Mayor. “She’s got to be punished to teach other people around here a lesson.”
The Mayor sighed. He turned to the woman and said, “I’ve got to punish you. The law makes no exceptions…ten dollars or ten days in jail.” But even as he pronounced sentence, the Mayor was already reaching into his pocket. He extracted a bill and tossed it into his hat saying: “Here is the ten dollar fine which I now remit; and furthermore I am going to fine everyone in this courtroom fifty cents for living in a town where a person has to steal bread so that her grandchildren can eat. Mr. Bailiff, collect the fines and give them to the defendant.”
The following day the newspapers reported that $47.50 was turned over to a bewildered old lady who had stolen a loaf of bread to feed her starving grandchildren, fifty cents of that amount being contributed by the red-faced grocery store owner, while some seventy others –petty criminals, people with traffic violations, and city policeman– each of whom had just paid fifty cents for the privilege of doing so, gave the mayor a standing ovation.
The mayor, who was required to uphold justice, also showed amazing love and compassion.
This story was presented to me as true, but even if it is not, it is a great parable of what God has done for each and every person on this earth. God, the just Judge, must uphold His own law. But in His mercy and compassion, instead of condemning all of us who cannot pay the fine, He went ahead and paid the costly price to satisfy His own justice.
I am now that bewildered one who stands before the Judge knowing that I am guilty of breaking the laws He has made, but having the fine paid for me. I am standing before Him knowing it is right for me to receive punishment due to my selfish choices that led me to break His laws, but instead I receive mercy.
Justice is what I deserve, but what I received was compassion through the just Judge paying a fine He did not owe to allow me to experience ultimate freedom… freedom to live for Him.
Will I ?