Where Justice And Love Collide

I will win her back once again. I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her there.   Hosea 2:14

The desert, of course, is the place where the couple can be alone. God is going to win back his bride. He is talking about a new honeymoon—together. Later, speaking of the whole nation, God says, “I will heal you of your faithlessness; my love will know no bounds, for my anger will be gone forever” (Hosea 14:4). God is telling us how the story of his relationship with his people will end.

God has taken love’s initiative in Jesus Christ, and for all eternity God will share love’s joy with his people. We do not deserve such love. Justice demanded something else. But the cross brings God’s love and justice together.

Picture a mound of explosives. Two long fuses extend from the mound, one going to the right, the other to the left. At the end of one fuse, a sign points toward the explosives with the word justice written on it. At the end of the other fuse, a sign points toward the explosives, bearing the word love.

The two fuses are lit simultaneously. On one side, someone says, “This is terrifying; when that fuse gets to the explosive of justice, there’ll be hell to pay!” But on the other side, they’re saying, “This is wonderful; when the fuse gets to the explosive of love, heaven will be opened!” The fuses eventually burn into each other and the explosion shakes the whole earth. Justice and love collide at the cross.

That’s the story of the Bible. On the day Adam sinned, God told him he would die—and he promised victory over the Curse. Someone born of the woman would crush the head of the serpent and deliver man from death.

God lit two long fuses called justice and love, and these two themes burn their way through the Old Testament story until they meet and reach their fullest expression at the cross. God’s love and God’s requirement for justice met as a perfect sacrifice was offered for our sins. What could ever make you turn away from love like this?

For further reading, see Romans 3