18 July | EVERYONE
“In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; now this is His name by which He will be called: the Lord our righteousness.” Jeremiah 23: 6
Speaking of the Messiah who would come to save the world, the prophet said that His name would be "Righteousness." It means that when I ask Jesus for justice, He himself comes to me because He is justice. No one can separate God from His justice; both are one. Jesus is righteousness itself.
We often think that a just man is one who does not lie, does not steal, does not kill, and does everything that the law demands. This is true, but only as a fruit of being in Christ and remaining in communion with Him. Jesus is justice. Separated from Him, good behavior is nothing more than mere moralism. And Christianity is not moralism but a relationship with Jesus.
Christianity becomes a suffocating experience when the only desire of the Christian life is to behave well. But it becomes fascinating and full of meaning when it is the wonderful experience of living each day with the person you love: Jesus. This is what Paul states: “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Paul goes beyond what any human being can imagine. He says that in Jesus the human being is made righteous, and not that he simply practices justice. After what has been said, when you reflect on God's justice, do you think of a divine attribute of the strength you need to obey, of forgiveness, or of Christ?
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Have you noticed that today's verse identifies being “saved” (like “Judah”) with God's incarnate righteousness? This association of ideas is frequent in the Bible, and it is better understood if we realize that divine justice is based on grace and not retribution. Meditating on this will make you know God better.