“You have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet you say, ‘How have we wearied Him?’ In that you say, ‘Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He delights in them,’ or, ‘Where is the God of justice?’” Malachi 2:17
God is just. Yet, justice is hard to find in our world today. When people openly break the law with little or no consequence it’s easy to question what God is doing. Even many believers wonder, “Where is God’s justice in all of this? Why doesn’t He just wipe injustice from the earth right now?” Because He is also merciful.
When Jesus died on the Cross, God delivered both justice and mercy to all humanity. His great mercy is the only thing holding back His swift and complete justice (2 Peter 3:9). First, He is allowing time for more people to be saved. But God is also purifying His people just as He was in the days of Malachi.
In today’s passage, Israel was not only upset with the wickedness of the world but with God for not putting a stop to it. God, however, turned the attention back to the lives of His people. They were pointing out the wickedness around them but had quit striving for righteousness themselves. They were asking for God’s justice regarding other people’s sins without recognizing God’s mercy regarding their sin (Malachi 3:1-6).
Likewise, we can get so caught up in what others are doing wrong that we fail to hold up God’s standard of righteousness in our own lives. In other words, maybe the reason the lost are so wicked is that Christians have become so worldly! Too often, we think politically and socially before we think spiritually. The root problem with evil and injustice is spiritual, and we cannot fix spiritual problems with social or political means.
Do you long for God’s justice? Then start by examining your own life and repenting of personal sin. If we say we’re ready for Jesus to return then we need to make sure we’re prepared for His justice. That means getting our eyes off the kingdom of this world and thinking about God’s Kingdom, first and foremost. Are you caught up in preserving your way of life or in preparing for His coming? Because His coming means justice!
