Jesus loves us. God, Himself, IS Love. God, who is Spirit, has turned all things over to His Son, Jesus (Luke 10:22), who is a resurrected man. (Yes, there is a human being in the Holy Trinity.) One of the things so delegated is judgment. (John 5:22)
Can you imagine how much of a challenge it would be for perfect Love, Himself, to judge those whom He totally and absolutely loves, eternally? Could this possibly be one reason why God has delegated judgment to Jesus? Just wondering out loud. Either way, both must be extremely Reluctant Judges. How do I reach this conclusion? Just open your eyes and review not only human history, but also current affairs in our world. Consider the following highly reliable trend, one you yourself may have gotten caught up into. I know I have.
People who have been given and who received God's gift of righteousness moan and wail to God against the wicked -- the unrighteous, pleading for God to "Do something!" Like David and other psalmists, we long for the day when their righteous judgment will manifest, and they will be 'out of our hair'. Psalm 58:10 goes much further; "The righteous will be glad when they are avenged, when they dip their feet in the blood of the wicked." I'm not sure about you, but this certainly isn't one of my wishes. In many places, The Bible even promises the righteous will see the unrighteous receive their judgment! (Proverbs 29:16, Psalm 107:42, 56:2 and 91: 8)
Alas, we have totally forgotten one little, highly pertinent fact:
We, the righteous, were once numbered
among them, the unrighteous!
God extended to us the richness of His Grace and Mercy when we likewise did not deserve it. And we embraced it! But how long did it take you to embrace it? Would you be willing for God to extend to the current unrighteous among us the exact same degree and number of years to reject His Grace and Mercy? This is hardly a question we are brought to ponder when horrible breaking news reports are iteratively flashed across our screens and minds.
The good news: God is willing to go even much further than that, and to give the most desperately wicked even more time to repent! He and Jesus are truly Reluctant Judges. James 2:13 staunchly affirms, 'Mercy trumps justice'. But judge they do and will continue to do, through Jesus, once a person's, people's or nation's 'cup of iniquity' is filled and their allotment of Grace and Mercy has been exhausted.
Considering the other side of the coin, their reluctance to judge means the world needs to have sufficient 'shock absorbers' to handle the iterative and horrible sins of the extremely wicked while Grace and Mercy are being extended and are at work in their hearts and lives. Does the concept of 'shock absorbers' sound unusual? If this characterization is appropriate, what pray tell, are the 'shock absorbers?' I believe they are the hearts/spirits and actual lives of people whose hearts are troubled (John 14:1), and whose physical hearts fail them (heart attacks) in the face of both the wickedness and the resulting punishment (Luke 21:26).
Consider the unique case of the ancient Jewish King Manasseh, son of King Hezekiah. During his wicked years, Manasseh had many innocents killed and God's prophet, Isaiah, sawn in half – a fact Isaiah reportedly prophesied to King Hezekiah when Manasseh was a young child. Yet Manasseh subsequently repented and served God until his death. Having 'absorbed the shocks' of this king's evil rule, Isaiah, other innocents and their murderer are now friendly neighbors in Heaven! Imagine such a work of Grace and Mercy!
Ok, before you return to your customary moaning and wailing about the God judging the wicked (and return you will because it is our nature), consider the people who absorbed the many shocks your own pre-Grace life had on the world...the hearts and lives of people stained, crippled and destroyed spiritually or physically, by your sins. I find this to be quite humbling.
Yep, Mercy truly does triumph and excel over Justice!
Once a Heavenly sentence is passed (judgment), Jesus instructs His angels to remove their spiritual protections from around the guilty who have staunchly rejected Grace and Mercy. This flings the door wide open for any and all devilish spirits to finish off the wicked, as we, the righteous, stand by to wait, watch, whine and wonder about that which is unfolding right under our noses.
We say, "Judgment delayed is justice denied."
God says, "Not so long as Grace and Mercy abide."
The wicked say, "Begone! With my life I'm satisfied!"
I say, "Thank God, these twins sure saved my hide!"
God says, "Not so long as Grace and Mercy abide."
The wicked say, "Begone! With my life I'm satisfied!"
I say, "Thank God, these twins sure saved my hide!"
When next you wonder why justice hasn't found the wicked,
And revenge come to us who in God's Books are listed,
Remember, judgment delayed is not justice forgotten.
From judgment delayed nouveau righteous may be begotten!
