I would wager, if I were a betting man, that sometime during your childhood you had an experience of feeling like something wasn’t fair. Some decision a parent made, or maybe you were falsely accused of something, or perhaps some time when you were playing a game and someone else wasn’t playing by the rules.
I’d also wager that in some sense you still feel that way. Most of us have an innate sense of fairness – not that our instincts are always correct, but we know that some things aren’t right.
I can’t speak for every country in the world, but when the United States was first formed, the Constitution was a revolutionary attempt by history’s standards to use the rule of law to give everyone equal opportunity. But what happens when rules or laws start breaking down, or they aren’t enforced fairly, or people start selectively applying them?
Interestingly, it was philosopher ol’ Freddy Nietzsche who pointed out that without moral law, the only thing left is power. And we’ve all heard the quip that the golden rule is that the person with the gold makes the rules. We don’t have to look too far to see that then what happens is people start trying to figure out how to get power to play political games and make things work out the way they want them to work out.
As we’ve heard during this Advent season, the original expectations of what the promised Messiah would bring would include the power to rule the world. But this was a human, earthly perspective that Jesus totally turned upside down?
Or did He?
Because it mentions a child being born, there’s Old Testament passage from the prophet Isaiah that has been turned into Christmas hymns, but it also speaks to what this King will be like:
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. Isaiah 9:6-7, NIV
There’s more here than we can get to in this short reflection, but it’s clear that this King will be not only the fulfillment of God’s promise to King David, but that this future King will be eternal, good, lover and bringer of peace, and just.
Imagine that. Perfect justice. Everything is fair.
And therein lies what might be the scary part of Christmas.
You see, we like the idea of other people getting what they deserve. Liberating captives and slaves, punishing the oppressors, a cheater getting caught.
But there’s a reason the phrase “fear of the Lord” occurs a lot in the Bible.
Because we know that we don’t exactly want perfect justice for ourselves. No, we like the idea of mercy.
And remember, with mercy we are given the most frequent command in the bible: Don’t be afraid.
As connectors, part of interacting with other people will inevitably include interacting with someone who deserves justice…and the need to give them mercy. To offer forgiveness like we, ourselves, and received forgiveness.
The perfect King, born in a manger, will come again. The whole world will be set right. We won’t need a perfect political system because He will rule. We won’t need a court system because there will be no more sin and shame.
Unto us a child is born. And it’s a beautiful, beautiful thing.
Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in communications, an award-winning author and speaker, and a passionately bad guitarist. ForTheHope equips on-the-go professionals with biblical principles to engage marketplace relationships with competent humility. On Twitter can follow him @RogerCourville and/or his podcast @JoinForTheHope, or get all updates by email subscription at www.forthehope.org.