Love and Justice

<p>"If God is loving, why does He deal with sin so harshly?" It’s a great question. Before we go on, let’s remember that God is always the same, always keeps His promises, and is always good, even when we don’t understand (Romans 11:33-35).</p><p>.</p><p>Judgement for sin may not seem nice, but it actually shows God’s love. Sin is going against God’s good design for life, and going against God’s plan ultimately leads to death.</p><p>.</p><p>Since God is completely good and perfect, He must address evil and sin. Our sin breaks our relationship with Him and those around us, but God loves us so much that He made a plan to rescue us from sin. Jesus is fully God, and He became human and lived among us, eventually dying on the cross for our sins, taking our guilt upon Himself (2 Corinthians 5:21). Through His own death and resurrection, Jesus beat sin and death, providing all who trust in Him with forgiveness and the promise of being with Him for eternity (John 3:16). He defeated the power of sin and evil: this is the best news ever (Luke 2:10)!</p><p>.</p><p>God’s justice is also good news when we look at a world full of evil and suffering. Because we know that Jesus is King, we can have peace and comfort in remembering that evil will not go unaddressed. When Jesus returns to judge the world and make all things new (free from the effects of sin and death), there will be no more suffering (2 Timothy 4:1; Revelation 21:1-5).</p><p>.</p><p>Love without justice is superficial, and justice without love is cruel. God’s justice shows that He cares about us and doesn’t want us to suffer or inflict evil on each other, and His love shows His grace and compassion. When we look to the cross, we see how bad sin is. Yet, when we look to the cross, we also see how amazing God’s love is. • Abby Ciona</p><p>.</p><p>• Read Isaiah 42:1-7. This passage talks about God’s promised Rescuer: Jesus! How does it show that love and justice go together?</p><p>.</p><p>• Read Proverbs 21:15. How is justice good news for Christians? (Hint: read Rom