Psalm 33:5
The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love. (NIV)

I freely admit that I am a history nerd. I got a history degree in undergrad, and to this day, I can easily get lost in a history book. In fact, I love all things old. In particular, I love old buildings. One of my bucket list items is to restore and live in a historic house someday. I want to take something that’s been abandoned or neglected and restore it to its original glory—to the way its creator originally intended.

Today, let’s continue our discussion on how God’s justice restores. We’ve discovered the inextricable link between God’s justice and righteousness, and how Christ is the ultimate standard of both. We’ve talked about God’s mishpat, or restorative justice, so today, let’s explore His righteousness. 

We’ll start by returning to Isaiah 51:4-5—“My justice will become a light to the nations. My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way.” In Hebrew, the word for righteousness is tzedakah. To tzedakah means to treat someone with a standard of dignity—more specifically, to treat others as the image of God. What higher standard can there be for treating someone rightly than to treat them as an image bearer of the Creator? Just like mishpat is restorative—so, too, is tzedakah. A tzedakah righteousness restores the dignity of the lost and broken. This righteousness goes beyond just doing the right thing and treating people rightly. It brings healing to the soul, gives purpose to suffering, and restores identities lost to sin and pain.

2 Corinthians 5:21 states, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” The Greek word for righteousness in this verse is “dikaiosune”—which represents the reality that, through the atoning work of Christ, we are restored to a condition that is acceptable and pleasing to God. Here, we see the significance of both Christ’s restorative justice and righteousness in a single word. By His blood, we are justified and made right, and in Him, we are given identity, purpose, healing, and hope.

Wednesday’s Reflection

Isaiah 53:5 says, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” Has anyone ever treated you in a way that felt like a restoration of your dignity? Do you treat people as though they are made in the image of God? Spend some time in prayer asking God to show you how you can grow in this way.