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.