some words on Justice by Frederick Buechner from Whistling in the Dark.
If you break a good law, justice must be involved not only for goodness’ sake but for the good of your own soul. Justice may consist of paying a price for what you’ve done or simply of the painful knowledge that you deserve to pay a price, which is payment enough. Without one form of justice or the other, the result is ultimately disorder and grief for you and everybody. Thus justice is itself not unmerciful.
Justice also does not preclude mercy. It makes mercy possible. Justice is the pitch of the roof and the structure of the walls. Mercy is the patter of rain on the roof and the life sheltered by the walls. Justice is the grammar of things. Mercy is the poetry of things.
What is your definition of justice? What is your definition of mercy? Where do you experience justice and mercy in your daily life?
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