Justice is a concept that we all love. We find satisfaction when a wrongdoer receives what we think they deserve. But when we’re judged for our own mistakes, we may not welcome the concept of justice as much – that’s when we like the idea of grace and forgiveness better.

Last weekend I finished a weekend talk series The Sound Of Grace with a talk entitled The Sound of Agony. I wrestled with the reality that we receive justice and righteousness from God at a high cost. Because of Jesus’ agony on the cross, we can see real justice—and real forgiveness—in action. In fact, if we say we love justice, then we should, in turn, love the Cross of Christ.

I understand this can be a difficult concept to accept. As a public speaker, many people have told me that it’s hard for them to believe in a God who would send His Son to the cross to die. They ask, “Why did He have to put His Son through that agony?”

For us to avoid the penalty of sin, there had to be payment for the sins we’ve committed. Just as the blood of a slaughtered lamb was required to escape death during the first Passover, Jesus’ blood had to be shed for us to escape death from sin, as Paul explained in Romans 3:25-26. For justice to be served, God required payment for our sins, and His son paid the price for us…in full. Jesus did this willingly out of love for both the Father and out of love for us.

Even when we were still sinners, Jesus died so that He could be our defender and advocate in the face of sin. Loving the cross brings us closer to appreciating, understanding and being thankful for His sacrifice, which was a demonstration of justice being served for us as sinners.

As we begin the week leading up to Easter, I encourage you to reflect on Jesus’ sacrifice and God’s righteousness. One way to do this is to partake in communion, where we remember the Last Supper and its implications of God’s love for us.

For more information on communion, please read pages A22 and A23 in the Life Transformation Bible. If you don’t have one of these Bibles, check out the reading online.

In Christ,

Jeff