Date: 10-11-24
Preacher: Ps Chen Mengxia
Title: Justice in God’s Eyes

Justice in God’s Eyes

This morning’s message was like a refreshing breeze as although I was familiar with Matthew 5:38-42 (the main biblical reference for the message), I was listening to the theme of justice and revenge being expounded for the first time. I guess it wasn’t easy to preach that message as it goes against the grain of our humanness and that is to seek justice for every wrong encountered. It also reflects a prevalent value in most societies. Also the biblical perspective that all human beings are equal in God’s eyes despite our unequal sufferings bear little comfort in most people’s mind, including mine.

Ps Chen’s message was appropriately illustrated with personal anecdotes that bore up the spirit of the message well.

She started with the point that ‘justice is not taking revenge’ and stated that this form of justice was more for those involved in the legal and judicial matters where the law gives a reference point for judges to mete out justice. However, to Christians, we must see God’s perspective that fairness and justice do not mean revenge.

Her second point, ‘Justice is love’ is a balanced one in the sense that she gave 2 perspectives: one from the secular Chinese perspective and the other, the biblical perspective. To most Chinese, righteousness equals revenge and that this theme is almost synonymous with Chinese culture which is also often depicted in their story telling of old, where revenge will happen once a surviving male child of a family wiped out in a massacre had grown up and acquired the necessary martial arts. Ps Chen also shared how Roman soldiers in biblical times had the unfair right to command the common folks then to help them carry their heavy pack for a mile. Then she shared that from God’s perspective, it is fair to help the Roman soldier carry his burden for a mile but to do another for the Roman soldier would be borne out of love. We can see that the extra mile can only be possible with God’s perspective which she covered in the biblical perspective.

The third and final point was ‘Justice is giving’ and here her sharing of Lincoln’s relationship with his rude General Edward and that of Tolstoy were certainly apt. In the former she spoke of Lincoln’s giving in a lot to his rude but able general adept in the then civil war in America. We must remember that Lincoln was holding the highest position in the land then. Her Tolstoy anecdote shared the story of the great Russian novelist whose big-hearted response to a starving beggar saved him from committing suicide.

This morning’s message is another instance of ‘with God, all is possible’.