Of all the perplexing questions that stare man in the face, the most puzzling may be “Why does God allow so much injustice in a world he created?” Any thinking human being can see that the universe was created by a rational mind. The universe itself is an orderly place which reflects not only the mind but the power of the Creator. He has the power to set planets in orbit, establish the boundary of seas, control weather patterns and give or take life. So why does this rational world contain so much chaos?

Most of us can attest to the truth of Murphy’s Law which says “if anything can go wrong it will.” How can that be true in a world of order?

Ever wonder why God doesn’t just come to earth and reveal himself to man? Why doesn’t he walk into the White House and tell the President, “This is a Christian nation and I’m God who gave the laws.” Why does a good God, who is opposed to chaos, allow so much chaos in the world? Why does he allow rapacious politicians to rule over innocent people? Why doesn’t he do something so powerful and dramatic that no power on earth could oppose him?

Oddly enough that has already happened. God’s existence didn’t start with the creation of man. God has always existed which is another mystery we don’t have time to explore here. But what was he doing during that eternity of time before man was created? How many angelic beings worked with him? And why is there an adversary? What is clear is that there was a time when spirit beings saw God and talked with him. Satan was one of those beings, at one time a covering Cherub who watched God administer justice in the universe. Yet he rebelled. He saw the power, the majesty and even the love of God up close and personal. But he turned evil.

The idea of a “covering” cherub is in itself a fascinating subject. To condense the commentator’s discussion on the subject, God sat on the mercy seat above the Ark of the Covenant which was located in the third heaven. The mercy seat sits atop the Law of God, written on the tablets of stone residing within the ark (Exodus 25:22, Rev. 11:19). From this position God administered justice in the spirit world. Since the law was below him, he often administered mercy. Satan, who was a first hand witness to this process, rebelled against the justice of God. Never mind that God had given him great talents, wisdom and wealth. For Satan the justice of God was less important than his personal power.

If that sounds like 21^st century politicians one can appreciate America’s Founding Fathers for their commitment to a just government. It should not be surprising that they looked to the Bible as the major source of wisdom. After reading the Greek philosophers and studying Roman law they rightly concluded that the God of the Bible was the font of justice.

America has every right to take pride in the system of justice we received from our founders. To a large degree they used God as the model. It is no accident that an engraving of Moses holding the tablets of stone is over the East Entrance of the Supreme Court Building in our nation’s capital. That is why every state constitution in our country refers to a reliance on God. God is the center of justice. Before America is tempted to doubt this system and conclude it is no better than any other we should compare the results. In 6,000 years no nation has been so blessed.

The pursuit of justice is so important that Jesus condemned the church leaders of his day because of their lack of ethics. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith.” (Matthew 23:23 NKJ)

So, to return to the question with which we began, “Why does God allow injustice?” Maybe God wants to know if Christians are as committed to just governance as he is. After all, if a man believes in Jesus, he must also believe in justice.

Until next time,