The primary role of any individual seeking justice in a child’s life, especially within unjust systems and circumstances, is to view Jesus as the source of authentic justice!! When we are child-centered in our approach and armed with Christ-centered justice in our hearts, we see the Lord fight for children in incredible ways!
Our timidity and fear get drowned out by listening to His voice amid the noise of opinion. When we partner with a Just God, we can be a voice that speaks with boldness, clarity, and authority to see positive outcomes and transform the trajectory of a child’s life forever! Psalms 31:8
“The emptiness of justice from governments, courts, or people will never satisfy! Because we’re made for Christ-Centered Justice!“
We must never forget that Jesus is the Just God, who saw and heard what no one else did, and that He will avenge the wrong. It is easy to become bitter and angry as you face the injustices that many victimized children experience. Rev 2. These emotions can become significantly heightened when circumstances touch on our pain points and injustices. Knowing how to navigate, process, and dialogue with the Lord through these emotions is central to being a peace-driven advocate. We must never forget that true justice cannot be obtained on the earth.
Why the Message of God’s Justice is Important to Victims?
A child should never ask the sobering question, who will fight for me? When a child or victim believes there is no Justice and no one will take an account for what happened to them, they feel an inherent sense of worthlessness. Thinking that they must not be worth much if no one cares about what happened to them. This is why ignored child exploitation is so incredibly damaging. These feelings of worthlessness can affect even those who haven’t experienced the trauma of abuse or other physical pain. Worthlessness is the root source of many mental health and depression issues. The Bible says feelings of worthlessness come when people are not taught that God takes an account for wrongs. Jeremiah 23.
Jesus will bring Justice, not just because it is the right or legal thing to do, but because it is something a Just God must do. When innocent people are harmed, when the weak are crushed, and when children are exploited, Jesus takes it personally. He holds deeply the injustice people suffer, especially the little ones. Matthew 18:6
How the Hope of God’s Justice Brings Comfort
Our cry for justice can sometimes be suppressed in our human attempt to be religious or strong. Yet, often it is easily misdirected towards people, institutions, or governments. These institutions and people cannot bring the authentic justice our hearts so desperately seek. No matter how hard we try to bury that cry, it will fester like a wound until we come to know Jesus as the source of justice. Not until we release these injustices to Him can we rest. Because only He can render the true and perfect justice we need.*
How do We Handle the Knowledge of Evil Things?
Without the revelation of God as Just, we have no honest response to the darkness and torment human beings are bringing upon other human beings. We challenge those who engage in broken and unjust places to restrain themselves from asking the question WHY. When we try to comprehend evil and why it has occurred, we can quickly find ourselves sliding down the rabbit hole of despair and hopelessness because we were not made to understand evil. Instead, we must focus on Christ-Centered Justice and that He will give beauty for ashes.
“Our human hearts were not made to comprehend the horrors that hell has invented.“
Our faith can quickly become bankrupt when we limit the power of God to the modern version of Jesus as meek, mild, and timid. We must never forget that He is both the Lion and the Lamb. When we view God only for His gentleness, we have a partial view of His heart. Reminding people of Jesus’s tears without acknowledging His power to act on their behalf presents an incomplete representation of His attributes.
His fierce and devoted love compels Him to bring forth justice. He does not stop being merciful to bring forth justice. And He does not suspend one attribution to express another. He is righteous and just and perfectly kind every step of the way. Because of His great love, He fights fiercely against everything that keeps us from experiencing His love. Only when we have come to know Jesus as just will we have adequate answers for the most broken people we encounter each day. People crying out for justice yet who do not know the One to whom they can direct their cry.*
What about Forgiveness?
We need to know that Jesus saw and heard what no one else did. And that He will avenge the wrong. Through the heart of Jesus, we can come to understand a God who says what happened to us was significant and that someone must pay. Yet, in His mercy, Jesus offers Himself as the solution and the recipient of the just punishment. Knowing Jesus as our just judge will not turn us into spiteful Christians who constantly speak negative words of judgment and condemnation. The exact opposite is true. When we understand that Jesus is just, we realize an equally important truth… we are not!
Understanding Jesus as the answer to the justice we seek allows us to comprehend forgiveness differently. Forgiveness is not about Jesus looking the other way but about us trusting our case to Him. By forgiving what seems impossible to release, we can make the mercy of Jesus famous and see His perfect justice brought forth.*
*Portions taken from the book, A Cry for Justice by Shelley Hundley.
How to Advocate Amid Injustice
Through our advocacy training, we dive into depth how to use emotional management tools and have a trauma-informed approach amid complex injustices. Learn how you can become an effective and professional advocate through this training.
