I watched a documentary about a murder, and it talked about justice. It seems that word “justice” is used a lot these days in political and social arenas. I have a problem with it because I’m not sure that the people using it really know what justice means. Justice conceptually means fair and equal treatment, but life isn’t fair. People are subject to the evil of the world. Random acts of violence and atrocities, not to mention natural disasters, happen all the time. I don’t believe that God wanted us to live in a just world in the same way I don’t believe He wanted us to live in a world without evil.
The part that really bothers me though is how people use the concept of forgiveness in religion to try to escape responsibility. To ask for forgiveness and say you are sorry isn’t enough if you aren’t ready and willing to accept the consequences of your actions.
I think the best example of this concept is the man who was crucified next to Jesus. It is true that he admitted his sin and asked for forgiveness. It is also true that Jesus forgave him and told him that he would sit with Jesus in Heaven that very day. However, one of the things that no one pays any attention to is this: even after he admitted his sin, asked for forgiveness, and was forgiven by Jesus Christ Himself, that man still received the punishment of crucifixion. Jesus didn’t say let me take your punishment away. He didn’t stop it, even though He could have. Jesus let that man suffer on a cross until he died because even though you admit your sins and ask for forgiveness, if you are truly sorry, then you accept the consequence of sin.
It isn’t an easy thing to do, but so often when I make a mistake, there first thing that goes through my mind is to cover it up so that no one will no about it. However, I hardly ever do that. It isn’t in my nature. It isn’t who I am. Today, I made a tiny error at work. I just accepted the consequences. I let my boss know what I did and asked what the next steps were.
The ironic part is no matter how much I mess up, the consequences are never as bad as what my imagination comes up with. I’m not saying that we all have to be punished. All I am saying is that to be truly sorry and to be truly forgiven, then I have to be willing to accept the consequences of my sins. Even if I were to confess at the end of my life on my deathbed, I still need to be willing to accept the consequences of my sin to be truly forgiven. It’s in taking responsibility and truly understanding how your sin impacts others that you can be forgiven. If you only look at yourself and just want a simple empty absolution, then that’s not really what God offers when He says He will forgive your sins if you ask.
My faith saved me. May God’s peace reside in all of our hearts.
