A Cup of Grace – with a shot of espresso

Several months ago, we were watching reruns of Night Court. This was an 80’s sitcom that used the late night courtroom in NY to set the stage for comedy. However, it had its serious moments. At the very end of the episode we were watching, Judge Harry Stone is having a monologue, or maybe it’s a prayer. All the other characters have left. Propped near him is a giant wooden cross that has been part of one of the story lines and some of the jokes. But now the courtroom is deserted and quiet, and Harry begins to talk to the cross. He explains to God, whom he is not sure is there, how he lost his faith because of all the evil he’s seen in his time as a judge.

He’s not alone in this struggle. He’s posing one of the biggest arguments used to disprove the existence of God. But setting the discussion against the background of the cross is thought provoking.

The cross, in its day, was the very symbol of evil and shame for a couple of reasons. Crucifixion was reserved for the worst criminals and those who were traitorous to Rome. It was also one of the worst ways man has invented for killing someone. It fought evil with evil.

Roman citizens couldn’t be crucified, and one didn’t talk about it in polite conversation. The cross was such a shameful way to be punished that most who died there weren’t even allowed to be buried. (This is why special permission has to be obtained to bury Jesus’ body.) In other words, crucifixion was exactly the kind of evil some would claim as evidence that God either doesn’t exist, or if He does, He can’t be just. None of us want to worship an unjust god.

Like Harry, most of us wish that evil didn’t exist. We cheer when bad guys lose. And if we were solving the evil in the world, we would want to come in like Superman and “fix” it – catch the bad guys and execute justice. But God’s understanding of evil is far more complete than our own. He sees the heart of each of us. 

Most of us believe that evil is over there – outside of us. It is that heinous thing someone else does. We acknowledge our own selfishness and pride, but in comparison to that over there, those aren’t “evil.” They are minor imperfections. But, we are comparing ourselves to the wrong thing which skews our standard.  

If we hold our own wrongs up against a holy and pure God, we will see them better. Anything short of His perfection and righteousness is sin, and sin is evil. Sin is always ultimately destructive. Small acts of selfishness eat away relationships. Pride jumps in and keeps us from admitting wrong or being teachable. Sin destroys who we could be and disrupts our relationship with a righteous God; a righteous God would demand justice. 

Again, Harry’s reasoning, and others as well, is that since there is evil, God, at least the God of the Bible, can’t exist. But when we understand that all sin is evil, what is really being said is that our existence disproves God’s existence. The fact that we have free will to make choices for good or evil means that this God can’t exist.

However, we confuse being able to do something with doing it. God is more than able to wipe out all evil. But He chooses not to. Does this mean He’s not good? In reality, we ought to be grateful. We exist because He doesn’t immediately execute His justice. Not one of us stands innocent. Instead, God’s goodness provides a way to fulfill His justice.

God doesn’t do things the way we would. He sees and understands what we do not.  Jesus didn’t enter the world as Superman and simply put all the “bad guys” in their place. God wanted to provide a way to rescue ALL those who were stained by evil. Humanity (Romans 3:23). So, God did the opposite of what we would do. He entered the world and became a part of it (John 3:16).

God took that symbol of crucifixion and turned it on its head.  Jesus, God incarnate,  experienced the evil of the world, and God used it to accomplish His purpose to answer the evil. Jesus stood in our place as the condemned for evil. He bore God’s justice. The guilty verdict we bear because of our evil, Jesus took on Himself (Romans 5:6-11).

However, a loving God would never force us to love Him in return.  That isn’t love. So, through the cross, humanity has the option. We can choose to allow God to deal with the evil in our own hearts by accepting Christ’s payment for us, or we can continue in our own “little” sins and wait for justice, to get what we deserve. We choose: mercy or justice (Romans 10:9, I John 1:9).

Harry stood in a darkened courtroom with what is now the very symbol of God’s answer to evil. God’s goodness is on display. Because of Jesus, the cross represents justice fulfilled and mercy offered. Of all people, a judge understands justice and mercy. He, like all of us, wants justice for the things he deems evil. The problem is that we don’t really want justice for our own evil. Thankfully, God sees the whole problem of evil and provides for it. The question for us is will we acknowledge our own problem with evil? Through Jesus and a giant wooden cross, God offers the choice: mercy or justice (Romans 6:23).