Photo by Guido Soraru

By Casey Iwanaga

There’s no such thing as justice
Well not complete justice
Justice is a word that doesn’t exist by itself
Along with it comes hypocrisy, jealousy and revenge
God is just
Just not just the way we hope
Not just the way we think
And not just when we want
God is purely just
Uncorrupted by jealousy and revenge
Perfect in his very existence

God doesn’t act solely out of justice
But God gives grace
Grace to balance out justice
To balance out sin
It is grace that we can exist and have a relationship with God
We ask for justice against others
Yet God gives grace
We ask for grace for ourselves
Yet God gives justice

Justice and grace not to punish but to teach
Not to hurt but to love
So what we should really be asking God for is grace
Grace to flow from our hearts
God can be just
And we need to be grace abundant with others
There always is a balance
There is no such thing as complete justice or complete grace
Only God can give both fully
And we are not God
So give grace
Because we can’t just be just

Casey Iwanaga is a junior at the University of California in Merced. Her father is a retired pastor currently serving as Chairman of the OMS Holiness Churches.

Photo by torbakhopper

By Ajung Sojwal

The yearning to comprehend justice is particularly poignant this season after Christmas, having heard bold proclamations from the Prophet Isaiah like, “His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forever more” (Isa.9:7). As I examine our general sense of justice, I am increasingly unsure if any human being or any profession truly understands what justice is. I find that the older I get, the more I am ready to toss out my imaginations of justice. I am coming to terms, rather sorrowfully, that justice — that is, the kind prophets dare to proclaim — continues to be an apocalyptic imagination. Continue Reading »

Photo by Irina Gheorghita

Presented by Angela Ryo

Jesus’ greatest longing, like that of the prophet Micah, was for the coming of God’s reign on the earth—that day in which God’s justice and love would permeate this earth as it does heaven. He also taught us to pray for God’s Kingdom to come. As we start out the new year, I would like to pray the prayer Jesus has taught us to say as adapted from “The Holy Longing” by Ronald Rolheiser: Continue Reading »

Photo by Blondinrikard Fröberg

By Diana Kim

I text you randomly, sometimes late in the evening, asking if you are available to meet.
We rally at a local diner and order a few items off their menu to justify our taking up space.
An appetizer. A cup of coffee. A dessert item.
Once we have been situated, I let out my frustrations from the day and the week.
I let out my frustrations that made me so upset I could not hold it in any longer, that I needed to call you that I might share with someone.
I complain about work and how I find the workplace so toxic. I complain about the messed up family situation I am in. I complain about life. Continue Reading »

Photo by Juliana Coutinho

Aristotle named “Friendship” as one of the virtues that we should strive to have. He described three levels of friendship – friendship for the sake of utility, friendship for the sake of pleasure, and friendship for the sake of the pursuit of good.

In life, we have all three levels of friendship, and sometimes we advance from one level to the next when circumstances allow. Continue Reading »

Photo by Ryan Somma

By Tina Teng-Henson

I. Friendship Haikus

Grace:
Scant years of overlap
Wistful regret for moving
Always in my heart

Diana:
Earliest friendship
Very different lives these days
Pen pals from the start Continue Reading »