We live in the “already” but “not yet”. Peace is already ours but not yet. The resurrection is already ours but not yet. Justice is already ours but not yet. Until then be comforted by the fact that you are reconciled in Christ on account of his life, death, and resurrection.
True justice will always be elusive on this side of heaven. We live in a broken and incomplete world. Our knowledge, our bodies, our relationships, everything about our existence is tainted with sin. We must wait until heaven for complete and perfect bodies, souls, relationships and, yes, justice. This does not mean that we should not strive for the perfection for which we were always intended to experience, but we should not expect it until Christ’s return. We should therefore contemplate the differences between earth and heaven. Our resurrected bodies will be the bodies we have right now, but they will be different in paradise, like Christ’s glorious body (Phil. 3:21). They will be perfect. The same is true for our souls and all our relationships. This is also true regarding concepts that we contemplate such as justice.
The difference between earthly justice and biblical justice is not simply that earthly justice is incomplete and frustratingly elusive, but that biblical justice is wrapped up in the righteousness of God. Righteousness and justice are ultimately the same thing. To be made righteous is to be made right with God. Justice is to make things “just” or “right”. Earthly justice is, at best, recompense and, at worst, revenge. Biblical justice is true reconciliation through the mediating work of Christ who makes all things “right” through love and forgiveness.
Recompence refers to some sort of repayment or reward. It is a quid pro quo justice. The person is paid a proper wage. If I do right, I receive a reward. If I do wrong, I have to pay for it either with punishment or with repayment to my victim. If I steal your car and then crash your car as I flee the scene of the crime, I owe you a new car. Simple enough. But what if I steal your car with a loved one of yours in the front seat and that loved one dies in the crash? Can I simply buy you a new car and buy you a new loved one? Even if I could resurrect your loved one and return him or her to you, I could never undo the psychological damage that I have caused. I cannot even undo the psychological damage of stealing your car. I cannot even undo the psychological damage of stealing a pack of gum from you. I have violated you, and there is no recompense, repayment, restitution, reparation, or any other “re-” word that can truly make it “right” or “just”. Earthly justice remains elusive.
Earthly justice often ends up in revenge, another “re-” word. An eye for an eye. This was the standard form of justice in the ancient world. If I crash your car, you get to crash my car. If I killed your loved one, well, you know what happens next. This might seem to satisfy the urge for justice in the moment, but as the saying goes, “If you set out for revenge, dig two graves.” True recompense remains elusive if it is replaced with a cycle of violence.
Biblical justice centers around another “re” word, reconciliation. The relationship between the two parties is restored through forgiveness. Only in Christ is this truly and everlastingly possible. His righteousness replaces our sin. We are made “right” with God and “right” with each other. We must wait for the benefits of this reconciliation, but in heaven it will be fully ours. But how can it be? Will we just forget about the sins committed against us and the sins committed by us as if they never happened? I do not think so. In heaven we will know about the great tribulation (Rev 7:14). In heaven Jesus is seen as the Lamb (Rev. 7:9). The Lamb is on his throne, but he is still a lamb. Certainly, we will know that he died for us which means we will know why he died for us, because we sinned. We will not simply forget the tribulation we endured. So how does that work? What did Stephen say to Paul when he met him in heaven? “Paul, you watched as they stoned me. You owe me!” Of course not. But why not? Because all things are made right in Christ.
This is almost impossible for us to ponder on earth but drops of heavenly reconciliation come to us who remain in the great tribulation for now. Imagine a mother with a twenty-year-old son. Her son is murdered in gang violence by another twenty-year-old man. As the mother witnesses the trial, she does not see the perpetrator primarily as a murderer but also as victim of a broken world. She does not desire recompense nor revenge. She just wants the violence to end. She wants to hug the murderer of her son because she sees her son in that man who took her son’s life. She wants reconciliation. She wants forgiveness for her son, for herself, and yes, even for the murderer. She wants things to be truly “right”.
I am willing to bet that you have experienced something similar even if it was not that dramatic. Think about the person in your life whom you love the most. That person you love the most is most likely the person who has harmed you the most. This is true because that person means more to you than anybody else. If a random person on the street insults me, it might bother me for a while, but if my wife insults me, damage is done. And do not forget that the person you love the most is the person you have harmed the most for the same reason. And yet something strange happens when there is forgiveness and reconciliation with that person. The love between you and that person actually grows. You have been through it together. Forgiveness overcame the sin. You were both vulnerable and weak and yet your relationship still stands. Think of an old married couple. They have been through it, haven’t they? And yet they are still standing. The relationship is not superficial but real and raw. The forgiveness given to each other made their love all the more powerful.
This is the closest thing we have on this side of heaven to true, biblical, and heavenly justice. Our lives are made “right” because Christ has reconciled us to the Father and we in turn hand that forgiveness to others (2 Cor. 5:19). So, we strive for perfect justice on earth because it is what we were intended for and what heaven will be like, but we should never expect it fully on this side of heaven. And yet it is already ours! We live in the “already” but “not yet”. Peace is already ours but not yet. The resurrection is already ours but not yet. Justice is already ours but not yet. Until then be comforted by the fact that you are reconciled in Christ on account of his life, death, and resurrection. And enjoy those moments of reconciliation on this side of heaven as rare as they might be.
The difference between earthly justice and biblical justice is not simply that earthly justice is incomplete and frustratingly elusive, but that biblical justice is wrapped up in the righteousness of God. Righteousness and justice are ultimately the same thing. To be made righteous is to be made right with God. Justice is to make things “just” or “right”. Earthly justice is, at best, recompense and, at worst, revenge. Biblical justice is true reconciliation through the mediating work of Christ who makes all things “right” through love and forgiveness.
Recompence refers to some sort of repayment or reward. It is a quid pro quo justice. The person is paid a proper wage. If I do right, I receive a reward. If I do wrong, I have to pay for it either with punishment or with repayment to my victim. If I steal your car and then crash your car as I flee the scene of the crime, I owe you a new car. Simple enough. But what if I steal your car with a loved one of yours in the front seat and that loved one dies in the crash? Can I simply buy you a new car and buy you a new loved one? Even if I could resurrect your loved one and return him or her to you, I could never undo the psychological damage that I have caused. I cannot even undo the psychological damage of stealing your car. I cannot even undo the psychological damage of stealing a pack of gum from you. I have violated you, and there is no recompense, repayment, restitution, reparation, or any other “re-” word that can truly make it “right” or “just”. Earthly justice remains elusive.
Earthly justice often ends up in revenge, another “re-” word. An eye for an eye. This was the standard form of justice in the ancient world. If I crash your car, you get to crash my car. If I killed your loved one, well, you know what happens next. This might seem to satisfy the urge for justice in the moment, but as the saying goes, “If you set out for revenge, dig two graves.” True recompense remains elusive if it is replaced with a cycle of violence.
Biblical justice centers around another “re” word, reconciliation. The relationship between the two parties is restored through forgiveness. Only in Christ is this truly and everlastingly possible. His righteousness replaces our sin. We are made “right” with God and “right” with each other. We must wait for the benefits of this reconciliation, but in heaven it will be fully ours. But how can it be? Will we just forget about the sins committed against us and the sins committed by us as if they never happened? I do not think so. In heaven we will know about the great tribulation (Rev. 7:14). In heaven Jesus is seen as the Lamb (Rev. 7:9). The Lamb is on his throne, but he is still a lamb. Certainly, we will know that he died for us which means we will know why he died for us, because we sinned. We will not simply forget the tribulation we endured. So how does that work? What did Stephen say to Paul when he met him in heaven? “Paul, you watched as they stoned me. You owe me!” Of course not. But why not? Because all things are made right in Christ.
This is almost impossible for us to ponder on earth but drops of heavenly reconciliation come to us who remain in the great tribulation for now. Imagine a mother with a twenty-year-old son. Her son is murdered in gang violence by another twenty-year-old man. As the mother witnesses the trial, she does not see the perpetrator primarily as a murderer but also as victim of a broken world. She does not desire recompense nor revenge. She just wants the violence to end. She wants to hug the murderer of her son because she sees her son in that man who took her son’s life. She wants reconciliation. She wants forgiveness for her son, for herself, and yes, even for the murderer. She wants things to be truly “right”.
I am willing to bet that you have experienced something similar even if it was not that dramatic. Think about the person in your life whom you love the most. That person you love the most is most likely the person who has harmed you the most. This is true because that person means more to you than anybody else. If a random person on the street insults me, it might bother me for a while, but if my wife insults me, damage is done. And do not forget that the person you love the most is the person you have harmed the most for the same reason. And yet something strange happens when there is forgiveness and reconciliation with that person. The love between you and that person actually grows. You have been through it together. Forgiveness overcame the sin. You were both vulnerable and weak and yet your relationship still stands. Think of an old married couple. They have been through it, haven’t they? And yet they are still standing. The relationship is not superficial but real and raw. The forgiveness given to each other made their love all the more powerful.
This is the closest thing we have on this side of heaven to true, biblical, and heavenly justice. Our lives are made “right” because Christ has reconciled us to the Father and we in turn hand that forgiveness to others (2 Cor. 5:19). So, we strive for perfect justice on earth because it is what we were intended for and what heaven will be like, but we should never expect it fully on this side of heaven. And yet it is already ours! We live in the “already” but “not yet”. Peace is already ours but not yet. The resurrection is already ours but not yet. Justice is already ours but not yet. Until then be comforted by the fact that you are reconciled in Christ on account of his life, death, and resurrection. And enjoy those moments of reconciliation on this side of heaven as rare as they might be.
