Justice & Mercy

Following the unanimous verdicts at the Old Bailey yesterday, Garry Dobson & David Norris can expect to face the consequences of their actions 18 years ago.
Some will see this as justice.
Others will believe that their continuing lack of honesty or regret shows that even the full weight of the law cannot deal effectively with their crime.
But how do we face the reality of our own failings?
The Bible is alive to the realities of human behaviour, and acknowledges the universality of human failings.
With refreshing honesty, humans are seen both as created in the image of God, and yet tainted through and through. None of us is as bad as might be, but equally, none of us is a good as we should be.
The Psalmist often reflects on our failings.
Psalm 51 seems to come from the context of King David's disastrous relationship with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Not only did David commit adultery, he also organised to have Uriah killed, and so implicated many of his loyal servants in his assorted crimes. The psalm's heading states, 'For the choir director: A psalm of David, regarding the time Nathan the prophet came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.'
But the words of the Psalm itself reveal an astonishing response to the behaviour which is common to all of us.
'Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love.
   Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.
 2 Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin.
 3 For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night.
 4 Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight.
   You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgement against me is just' (Psalm 51.1-4)
In this cry for mercy, I see how I should face my failings and God's holiness. But supremely, I see my need of His mercy, for which I have no right. Only God can save me from myself, and make me a new person. Wonderfully, this is exactly what Jesus came into our world to do - to save people from their sins!
My prayer is that many in our community will discover this wonderful good news, and find lives and destinies transformed.
Best wishes,
Richard