I’ve heard it said so often, but I doubt much thought has been given the idea. It is said too glibly, confidentally, to persuade me otherwise.

Did the one who spoke really know what he is up against? Does he truly know the charges? Does he think he’ll be acquitted? It is spoken as though that is the case. But the thought of this quite terrifies me. I’m sure I’d not be wanting to stand there on my own.

Yes, the Judge is very fair. His justice is the ultimate of just. The hearing will leave the one who spoke in no doubt that everything has been taken into consideration. But even if there are “extenuating circumstances” can he be so sure that it will work out OK for him? After all, he knows he is far from perfect and indeed did break the law. Not just once, but daily… and many, many, many times per day. He is flawed, and always has been flawed.

To be strictly honest, I’m not sure it is justice that I want. No, not even from the most just judge. I know that I am guilty, and even with “extenuating circumstances” I know there will be “just desserts” that ought to be delivered. And multiplied exponentially throughout an entire lifetime, those “just desserts” are not looking very comforting. In fact, the whole idea of justice absolutely terrifies me.

To be strictly honest, it is not justice that I want but mercy. I want to be rescued from the justice I know that I deserve, even from the most just judge, and for that I need a rescuer. I need an advocate, a mediator, someone on my side, and someone where there is a bounty to be paid will pay that bounty which I can never pay. I need to be saved from the justice I deserve, and granted mercy and forgiveness. So it scares me when I hear it said by others that they will depend on God’s justice for whatever comes hereafter. Yes, God is the most just judge that one can ever have, but unless they have a rescuer - a Saviour and Redeemer - the sentence is unlikely to be worth the risk they’re taking when they come to meet their Maker.