J is for Justification

In our world we so often think and tell ourselves that we are justified in doing something. For instance I tell myself that I am justified yelling at my family, particularly my children because they don’t hear me otherwise. Yelling while not necessarily bad it’s just no nice. In our social climate more and more people are employing the policy of an eye for an eye as found in the Old Testament law, Exodus 21:24 even though it is actually attached to a specific crime against prematurely born children.

These days we do not expect people to get justice very often in

our courts of law. Sometimes we are surprised when judges give a sentence that fits the crime but it would seem to be a rare occurrence in our society. The thing about justice in the human mind is that nothing will make up for the loss of something particularly our health, high quality of living or a life. These things are too precious to us to let go of them.

Yet Jesus loved us enough to justify us. When we live our lives in a way that only suits us and not in a way that suits God then God has declared us to be justifiably sent to hell after this life rather than live in Heaven with Him. Jesus, however came to earth and not only showed us how to live the way God wanted us to but died on the cross so that when this life is over we can go to live in Heaven as if we have always lived our lives in the manner that God wanted us to but didn’t. “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” John 3:17

This is not an automatic reprieve it must be acknowledge our selfishness and ask Jesus to forgive us of it. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9