There was an aging Hollywood actress, well past her prime, who was having her photo taken for promotional material. She met with the photographer to review his work and was thoroughly outraged. She said, "These photos don't do me justice!" The photographer replied, "Madame, you don't need justice; you need mercy." The aging actress didn't like what she saw in the photograph. She was seeing the reality of how she really looked at this stage in her life. Who of us doesn't look at old photos and sigh and say to ourselves, "Oh mercy, where do the years go?"

We experience unfairness in our own lives, and we're usually not to quiet about it. We complain, moan, and groan to others and God. Our only consolation as Christians is knowing Who rights all the wrongs, maybe not on earth but in heaven. On the day when those who are raised to judgment stand before Christ, no one will be able to complain that they were unfairly treated. Jesus alone perfectly knows all the facts, all the extenuating circumstances, all the witnesses, all the excuses, and all the motives. There is no judge on earth who is perfect and can mete out perfect justice in every instance. All human judges are flawed, and well, human. They are imperfect, and therefore subject to their own whims and faults that accompany humanity. Our hope for ultimate justice is found only in Christ.

But does this mean we do not seek justice—shrug our shoulders and walk away because human judges are flawed? No. An application of Jesus' words in John 5:30 would be to seek His justice and emulate it. The point of John 5 is that the Son always seeks to do the will of the Father. And us? The same. Just as the Son represents the Father in all things, so are we to represent the Son with the principles of the Gospel. As the Son does the will of the Father, so must we. As the Son declares the justice of the Father, so must we.

We are even commanded to justice in the Scriptures in many places, but here is but one: "You shall not show partiality in judgment, you shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not fear man, for judgment is God's. The case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me and I will hear it” (Dt 1:17). It is incumbent on us as believers to seek equal justice for all. And when the details are intricate, as they often are, we are to seek God's help in discerning His justice in the matter.

The justice system of western civilization is personified in the statue "Lady Justice." She wears a blindfold (justice is blind and impartial), she carries a pair of scales (equal justice for all based on evidence), and she bears a sword (punishment is to be just and swift). These truths are all taught in both Old and New Testaments. 

But our most significant role in justice is to be a righteous (just) people. If anyone should seek justice, it should be Christians. We are to live justly and do our part whenever possible within the system. Many have forgotten, or perhaps never knew, that Christians largely drove the abolition of slavery in England and the United States. These men and women believed that all people are created in God's image and therefore possess inherent equality before God and one another. 

But before (and while) we work within our system, we must let God do His work in our hearts. That is the starting point for us as believers when we consider racism, for instance. To dislike, hate, or mistreat any God image-bearer (human being) because of skin color or race is sin and even irrational. People have no control over who their ancestors are, and that ancestry does not make one worthy of hate or mistreatment. God holds each person accountable for their individual sin, regardless of the skin color.

It is a matter of the human heart. You can act one way on the outside and be another on the inside, but Jesus said it will eventually come out in your words and actions. Where do such thoughts and injustices begin? "That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man" (Mark 2:20-23).

We cannot reform the human heart; it needs transformation, from death to life, from sin to righteousness. And that is the work of Christ Himself in the Gospel.

So how do we seek justice with the sins of racism, violence, hatred? Like all other sins, it starts first in our hearts.

•  Adopt God's view of all people and treat them accordingly.
Proverbs 29:13 "The poor man and the oppressor have this in common:
The Lord gives light to the eyes of both."

•  Embody the principles of the Gospel.
Proverbs 29: 7 "The righteous care about justice for the poor,
But the wicked have no such concern."

•  Protect your heart from anger and hatred.
Proverbs 29: 8 "Scorners set a city aflame,
But wise men turn away anger."

We plead mercy for ourselves but justice for others. Jesus said, ”I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me." He said this in the context of the final judgment at the consummation of the ages. He alone is worthy to judge, and His judgment is just. Therefore, before that day, we need His mercy so that we are not judged for our sin. The Gospel is the good news that by virtue of Christ taking upon Himself the judgment for our sin, we receive forgiveness and mercy. 

Let us seek mercy for others as well.

He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God?

Micah 6:8