God of Justiceਨਮੂਨਾ

Which sign will you choose?

William ‘Bill’ Veeck was an American Major League baseball revolutionary. As one-time Cleveland Indians owner, Veeck added Larry Doby to the roster as the first African American to play professional ball. Later as owner of the Chicago White Sox, he desegregated the stadium by removing all the ‘blacks only’ and ‘whites only’ signs from above the stadium toilets. When outraged officials legally bound Veeck to replacing the signs, Veeck chose to swap them around. The ‘blacks only’ toilets became the superior facilities of the former ‘whites only’ toilets. The lawmakers were furious but had no recourse as Veeck had observed the letter of the law.

God does not merely choose to act justly – He is justice. His decisions are not swayed by external pressures or personal biases. How incredible is it then that He longs for His selfish and short-sighted children to be restored to Him? How is it even possible that justice and mercy can co-exist?

In Christ’s death, God ‘swapped the signs’ for humanity. He took the ‘righteous’ sign from above Jesus’ head and replaced it with our ‘condemned’ ones. As Jesus languished on the cross, Jesus became our sin. That was His choice. Ours is to accept His sign that reads ‘righteous.' In today’s vernacular, we might read righteous as worthy, decent, law-abiding and, most gloriously, innocent.

Isaiah 30:18 tells us that God is waiting to be gracious to us. God’s justice is both our death sentence and our protection. Which sign will you choose to wear today?

Written by DWAYNE JEFFRIES