Tuesday, June 17, 2008

#165: Out for Justice

Nope, this is not a commentary on Steven Segal's movie (you know...bash, maim, and kill everybody who's not on your side) for those of you who are movie buffs. Hmmm...as a side thought, "in the buff" means naked. Does that mean "movie buffs" watch flicks without their clothes covering all the essentials? Ich, in many a case, I don't want THAT visual...But I digress!

I'm currently reading John Adams by David McCullough (why's the author's name on the top of every other page, anyway?!!) and came across an interesting quote (among many in an excellent biography), especially considering Adams' training as a lawyer and apparent Christian world life view. He wrote in his diary sometime around 1772 that he was not going to get into politics...yeah, right! Well, some visiting Englishman got him really steamed with remarks about "the English sense of justice...There was no more justice in Britain than in hell, he had told the Englishman." (p.70)
Now, what BETTER place to exemplify PERFECT justice than HELL?!!! By its very existence and nature, Hell IS God's justice, completely devoid of His mercy and grace. I guess logic goes out the window when you're in the heat of an argument...or complimenting a man by calling him "a Helluva guy" when the intention is that he's really a good old boy, as I've heard in the past.

I'm listening to "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" at the moment, so I'm thinking of His terrible swift sword, His Truth that marches on and on and never goes forth without accomplishing that for which He sent it (Isaiah 55:11), and His grace in providing The Way, The Truth, and The Life in Jesus (John 14:6); something which, ironically, Julia Ward Howe apparently rejected in spite of writing this hymn and her Presbyterian Christian parents' teaching as a child. Don't have much else to say, so I won't.

Got somebody who needs to read this?

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