Cue narration:

In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups: the police, who investigate crime; and the district attorneys, who prosecute the offenders. These are their stories.

Then comes THE sound.

chung-chung.

The thought of that sound just gave me chills.

For almost 30 years, that sound has been synonymous with justice and with wrongs being righted. It is a sound that resonates loudly within me.

I’m a Law & Order kind of guy.  Oh, I’ve enjoyed the shows, from the classic L&O, to the uncomfortable SVU, to the masterful Criminal Intent.  I’ve seen them all.  Well over half my life is marked by watching the episodes.  Some (my wife would argue all) I’ve even seen multiple times.  The beauty in the show is that there is always a clear black and white, wrong and right.  Bad guys don’t win.  No, they end up face down on the pavement thanks to the no nonsense detective work of Logan and Brisco.  The guilty pay.  They are thrown behind bars thanks to the skillful arguments of Ben Stone or Jack McCoy.

Justice always prevails…

Except when it doesn’t.

I always hated the episodes when the guilty got off.  My stomach would turn upside down.  It just didn’t seem right.  How could they get off on a technicality? Or by deceiving people into believing in their false innocence?  It simply wasn’t fair.

My problem is, I’m a Law & Order kind of guy in real life, too.  I’m a rule follower.  I believe in a clear right and wrong.  When I was a kid, when my family went on vacation, I would stand outside the pool and read every rule posted before ever entering the water.  That’s just how I’m wired.  I expect people to do what is right.  And when they don’t, I want justice.  When things go wrong, I want them to be made right.

Sometimes though, life isn’t fair.

Sometimes wrongs are not righted.

Sometimes people aren’t held accountable.

Sometimes people get away with stuff on a technicality or because those around them don’t know the truth.

Even worse, sometimes people know exactly what is happening never say anything.

And it hurts.

You know the feeling.

What do you do when life is unfair?  How do you respond when the innocent get hurt and the guilty walk away untouched?  What do you do when people with agendas unfairly attack you personally?  Or when someone spreads falsehoods about you or your ministry?   What about when your family and kids are mistreated?  How do you deal with daggers that come in the hands of “friends” or arrows fly from unknown assailants?  What do you do when no one sees what is really happening or they do but remain silent?

In my Law & Order world, I need to be reminded continually that I am not in control, God is.  I do not have the ability to bring about justice.  He does.  I can not make things ultimately right.  He will.

So in the meantime, until the Lord intervenes one day, rather than focusing on what others have done, I must examine what I do.  As dad once told me, “you can’t control what others do, you can only control what you do.”

Here are some things we can do until the Lord makes things right one day.

1.  Love those who hurt you.  Ok.  That may not be the most popular idea in the world, or the easiest.  But, it is the best.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus commands us to love our enemies.  The word translated enemies there in Matthew 5:44 means those who you are hostile to or those with whom there is opposition.  We all have those kinds of people in our lives.  Rather than seeking vengeance or harm in his or her life, seek what is best for that person.  Love them like you love yourself.   It may not change them in the least, but it will begin to change you.  You are not answerable for them, but you are answerable for yourself.
2. Pray for them.  In that same passage, Jesus tells us to pray for those who are against us.  And not the “Lord, please strike them down with the burning fury of a thousand suns” kind of prayer.  Pray for their heart. Pray for their well being.  Pray that their eyes will be opened to the hurt they caused.  Pray that your own eyes will be opened.  Pray for healing and blessing in their lives.  As we pray, we must remember how Jesus intercedes for us, all of whom have continually sinned against Him.  Again, praying may not change them, but it certainly will us.
3. Forgive them.  Forgiveness is not based on their repentance but on our obedience.  We forgive because we have been forgiven for far more egregious things in our own lives.  Matthew 18 reminds us that since we have been forgiven much, we must forgive much.  How often should we forgive them?  Well, Peter, in a moment of pride, offered to forgive his brother seven times.  I think that exceeds what most of us are willing to offer someone who hurts us multiple times.  We’d applaud Peter.  Yet, Jesus wasn’t satisfied with that number.  Instead, He says that we are to forgive an infinite number of times.  Seems reasonable considering that He Himself has set the example in His dealings with our offenses.  Echo the words of Jesus to those who hurt us, “Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing.”
4. Hope in the Lord.  There is some good news.  One day, all things will be made right.  In His plan and on His timetable, all wrongs will be righted. Funny thing is though that when that day comes, I don’t think we will be really all that concerned.  In fact, in eternity, the injustices we experience in the here and now will seem so insignificant.  The hope of what is to come for us as followers of Jesus is so grand, these temporary trials and distresses of today fade in comparison.  Peter reminds us of this in 1 Peter 1:3-9.  The promise of our salvation, our inheritance that is ahead, our living hope, all allow us to endure the injustices of today.  We can either chose to focus on the problems of today or the awesomeness of what is ahead.

I’ll try to leave the Law & Order to the TV.  I’ll trust the Lord to handle the mess in my life and the lives of those around me.  As He works on me, I’ll work on living out my faith in how I treat those who hurt me.  Love, pray, forgive, and hope. Come to think of it, I think I’d like those who I’ve hurt (unintentionally or otherwise) to do the same for me.

cue narration:

In this life there is One who ultimately is the justice system, He is the one who knows all things and will set all things right in the end.  Until then, He uses His people as instruments of grace to love, forgive, and pray for their offenders, looking to the hope of what is to come.  This is His story.

chung-chung.