God is just, and the world He created is just, although it does not appear to be just at every moment. However, eventually God "will repay every man for what he has done" (Rm 2:6).
God is merciful. He treats us much better than we deserve. He is more than fair, better than just. God is not limited to being just, for His "mercy triumphs over judgment" (Jas 2:13).
Is God's being better than just unjust? Is it contradictory to be both just and merciful? The question in life is not so much: "Why do bad things happen to good people?", but "Why do good things happen to bad people?" God's mercy is more mysterious and therefore more problematic than His justice.
The Lord can be merciful without ignoring justice because He is "our Justice" (1 Cor 1:30). By dying on the cross in our place, Jesus fulfilled "the just demands of the law" (Rm 8:4). By fulfilling justice, He is free to move beyond justice – to mercy. Therefore, when Jesus forgave the paralytic's sin and claimed the authority to forgive sins, He was claiming to be God, our Justice, and even crucified Mercy. Receive God's forgiveness. Abandon yourself to the mercy of God.
| PRAYER: | Father, by faith in Jesus may I rejoice in this season of mercy. |
| PROMISE: | "Let us strive to enter into that rest, so that no one may fall, in imitation of the example of Israel's unbelief." –Heb 4:11 |
| PRAISE: | Josh repented and reversed his vasectomy. God blessed his family with two more children. |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College