You who were once far away from God… You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault… this is the secret: Christ lives in you.” Colossians 1:21-22, 27a

 

It’s not fair! If you’re around kids, you’ve heard this phrase countless times over matters like who got more ice cream in his bowl.

But who hasn’t lamented something that’s not fair? Feeling unfairly treated triggers a powerful, painful response in our brains. We long for things to be made right.

The Bible says that God “demands accurate scales and balances; he sets the standards for fairness” (Proverbs 16:11). But Jesus reveals a radical truth: He cares about injustice, but He didn’t come to make life fair. He came to offer something greater and that’s reconciliation. Instead of striving for just fairness, we’re called to embody a much higher law of love, forgiving and showing grace as God does to us.

Fairness won’t change hearts. Reconciliation will, and reconciliation is the heart of the Good News. The Bible says, “You who were once far away from God… You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault… this is the secret: Christ lives in you” (Colossians 1:21-22, 27a).

People who have been made clean, who have life-giving relationship with God and have His spirit living within them are people who are going to treat others differently.  They’re going to treat others fairly and value justice.