Justice Part 2?

Where justice ends, love begins. Thats the answer. At least according to Brennan Manning. "On the last day when Jesus calls me by my name, 'Come, (Daniel), blessed of my Father,' it will not be because Abba is just, but because His name is mercy."



I am loved by my Creator. Because He is love, He is able to look beyond justice. He is able to move beyond what I deserve. He pursues a relationship with my heart, soul, mind and body. Not out of justice, but out of love and kindness. He is just. He is love.



I watched a "crazy, homeless lady" dance around the street tonight. (Yeah, she winked at me. Guess I appeal to someone out there? At any rate...) God looks at her with the same caring, loving gaze He looks at me with. He desires her just as much as He desires me.

In "The Ragamuffin Gospel" Manning recounts the story of the woman caught in adultery in the New Testament. The Pharisees wanted justice when they paraded that woman, naked and scared, in front of Jesus. Jesus wanted the woman to know love and experience grace. He wants me, and you, to know love and experience grace.

I think He desires I acknowledge my brokenness. I think He desires I understand justice and what I 'deserve.' I think He wants me to EXPERIENCE grace, kindness, love, and compassion. To move past the questions and recieve His love with gratitude and joy. I want to live in a place of trust. I want to have all of my fears driven away. There is no fear in love.

I don't think He wants me to be hung up on my falleness. I don't think He wants me to hate myself because of the things I do and have done. That isn't experiencing love and grace. That isn't living a life of gratitude. Once again, life is about balance. I have to understand my weaknesses. I have to understand that I am loved in spite of them. I have to trust that He loves me. I have to trust that life is an experience. I will experience sadness and loss. I will experience joy and suffering. I WILL experience grace and love. I will express gratitude. I will recieve His love. I will be a beggar at His door of mercy.