Psalm 99

1 The Lord is king! Let the nations tremble! He sits on his throne between the cherubim.
Let the whole earth quake!
2 The Lord sits in majesty in Jerusalem, exalted above all the nations.
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name. Your name is holy!
4 Mighty King, lover of justice, you have established fairness. You have acted with justice and righteousness throughout Israel.
5 Exalt the Lord our God! Bow low before his feet, for he is holy!
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests; Samuel also called on his name. They cried to the Lord for help, and he answered them.
7 He spoke to Israel from the pillar of cloud, and they followed the laws and decrees he gave them.
8 O Lord our God, you answered them. You were a forgiving God to them, but you punished them when they went wrong.
9 Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at his holy mountain in Jerusalem, for the Lord our God is holy!

"It's not fair!"

It's one of the first real complaints registered by children.

And one thing I know for certain...although everybody doesn't agree about what is fair, everybody has a notion of fairness. The notion is central to our nature and we have an absolutely foolproof "fairness" meter...with a hair-trigger...inside us that registers the moment something is unfair.

So, it doesn't escape my notice when your piece of pie is bigger than mine. As I grow older I learn not to reach across the table and grab yours, but that doesn't mean I didn't notice. Nor does it escape my notice when my friends work hard and faithfully...yet don't get promoted.

"Its not fair."

Which, of course is why it is such good news that our Lord is returning to run things. We are certain that He is fair. Not only is He fair, He "invented" fairness." In fact our psalmist says exactly that. "Mighty King, lover of justice, you have established fairness." It doesn't get better than that. Finally, we don't have to keep our eye on everything. We can relax and rest assured that Christ will not let our neighbor get away with...well, you know, whatever. I can see why the writer says "exalt the Lord our God! Bow low before his feet, for he is holy!" That's the most gracious response we can offer to a God who has finally put things right.

But then there's this "justice" thing. Which, I guess, is not quite the same as "fairness." We're told that Christ has "acted with justice and righteousness." Actually, justice sort of takes all the fun out of fairness. Verse 8 says "You were a forgiving God...but you punished them when they went wrong." If we really want fairness we have to accept the fact that our bad behavior demands punishment. OK, it "sounds" fair, but I'm not enthusiastic.

Life would be so much easier if it weren't fair...

Forgiveness and punishment are two sides on the coin of justice. Forgiveness is critical. It's what assures us that even though we are being punished (disciplined) we are not abandoned. Forgiveness doesn't allow abandonment. That really wouldn't be fair. After all, it's in our very nature to "go wrong." Unfortunately the coin of justice demands consequences so punishment is the other face of the coin.

Which is why Christ died for us. Somebody had to pay the consequences for our sin. The reason Christ's sacrifice is perfect justice is because it offers 100% forgiveness while paying 100% of the punishment.

What if Christ would have quarreled with God and said "it's not fair that I should die for those losers down there!" Jesus would have been right...it wouldn't be fair. If God would have let His son off the hook, guess what? We wouldn't be here.We would already have died for our own sin. That's the punishment.

You know what? I'm just not that interested in fairness any more. How about you?

Live boldly out there today...