"No fair!" she screamed.
"But you punched him," I reply.
"It wasn't that hard," she shouts.
"I don't think his ear is supposed to be that color," I reason.
"It's still no fair," she concludes.
With punishment taken care of, I walk away wondering why justice doesn't make sense to my children. Then again, God probably wonders the same things about me. Sure, I appreciate justice when it is being doled out to murderers and other 'really bad people', but I wince when it heads in my direction.
In my most mature moments, I can appreciate that justice comes because God loves me. It is the opposite that causes me bigger problems. How do I handle life when injustice comes my way? Those times when I am minding my own business and someone deems it necessary to ridicule or hurt are the times when I question, 'why me?'
Paul says it ‘has been granted…to suffer for [Christ]’ (Philippians 1:29). Some of us may at time suffer for being a Christ follower, but Paul writes as if we should be honored. The first century Christians felt it was an honor to suffer, because it was then they shared in the life of Christ.
'No fair' was not part of their dictionary. They did not think like that. Fair, unfair, good times or bad, it was all about Jesus. This should be okay with us since we know that He has our best in mind. Especially since our suffering here cannot compare with our future glory. (See Romans 8:17-19). That seems fair.
"But you punched him," I reply.
"It wasn't that hard," she shouts.
"I don't think his ear is supposed to be that color," I reason.
"It's still no fair," she concludes.
With punishment taken care of, I walk away wondering why justice doesn't make sense to my children. Then again, God probably wonders the same things about me. Sure, I appreciate justice when it is being doled out to murderers and other 'really bad people', but I wince when it heads in my direction.
In my most mature moments, I can appreciate that justice comes because God loves me. It is the opposite that causes me bigger problems. How do I handle life when injustice comes my way? Those times when I am minding my own business and someone deems it necessary to ridicule or hurt are the times when I question, 'why me?'
Paul says it ‘has been granted…to suffer for [Christ]’ (Philippians 1:29). Some of us may at time suffer for being a Christ follower, but Paul writes as if we should be honored. The first century Christians felt it was an honor to suffer, because it was then they shared in the life of Christ.
'No fair' was not part of their dictionary. They did not think like that. Fair, unfair, good times or bad, it was all about Jesus. This should be okay with us since we know that He has our best in mind. Especially since our suffering here cannot compare with our future glory. (See Romans 8:17-19). That seems fair.
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