"That's not fair!" Somebody, somewhere is probably crying these words right now. Somewhere in the soul of every man, woman and child is a deep longing for justice, but how do we satisfy our longing for justice in such a broken, often morally deplete world such as this? God is faithful to answer... I am enjoying a time of fasting prayer. The Lord is faithful to increase my awareness of His closeness in this season. In particular, the Lord gave me an important lesson, which came in the form of an image of the "scales of justice." It has to do with balancing truth (or "rightly handling the word of truth" ~ 2 Tim. 2:15 ) and grace ("...it is the gift of God...." ~ Eph. 2:8 ) . We have all likely heard the axiom, "Speak truth in love." After all, people do not care what you know, unless they know you care. The word of God (absolute truth) is a two-edged sword and it can hurt the Body if given without healing and saving grace (unlovingly). I aspire to make it a practice in my personal relationships to refrain from confronting anyone with their sin, unless and until I have gone to the Lord and laid my life down once again, repenting of my own sin, surrendering all malice, forgiving the other and humbly asking my Lord's permission and power to speak truth in love. Conversely, I would also be remiss to not do the same prior to offering someone charity and kindness , lest my impure motives spoil what could otherwise be a bountiful harvest. (See Hebrews 10:8-10 .) Imagine, if you will that Jesus sits at the fulcrum of the scales. He is solid, stable, immoveable, strong and secure in that place. The world is represented by the horizontal arms (lever) of the scales. We, as believers in the world, are free to move to, from and across the arms at will. Let's say, for the sake of this illustration that TRUTH resides in the pan suspended from the left arm of the scale and GRACE resides in the right-hand pan. As we move across in the world, seeking to share the truth and grace of God, some are inclined to walk out onto the arm of truth while others are more inclined to walk out onto the arm of grace. Truth-walkers value knowledge most, and grace-walkers value forgiveness more. I submit to you that the safest AND most effective place to "call home" is in the center with Jesus. Only He can keep the scales balanced. As He sends the grace-walker out, He will send a truth-walker out also, keeping the scales of the Kingdom perfectly balanced. In some instances, the grace-walker and truth-walker are one in the same person. Our Lord keeps the Church centered on Him and in balance for the most beneficial, effective and fruitful work of His ministry. He does this in the eternal, meaning He is not bound by time and space. The danger for individuals comes when one does not find center and rest in Him: learn His ways, move in His strength and wait for His timing. You see, I believe our relationship with God is moment-by-moment. Let us not get so caught up in our own interpretation of the vision that He has placed on our hearts and minds, so as to lose balance and fall right off, rendering ourselves ineffective for the sake of the Kingdom... ...But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. ~ Hebrews 10:39 Jesus, a pure and innocent man sent by His Heavenly Father, Creator of the universe, willingly took on our sins, suffered, died and was buried, receiving the punishment that we deserved, but could not bear. Three days later, He rose from the dead, overcoming sin and death for our sakes. That's grace! But He did not stop there. When Jesus left Earth to sit at the right hand of the Father, the Holy Spirit was sent to be our comfort and our counselor, guiding us into all truth and empowering us to love God with all our hearts, minds and souls and heal a lost and broken world. That's love!