6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might 10 on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you. 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10

There is quite a bit of end times theology packed into these verses, but the first three words sum it up: God is just. Whether it’s punishing the bad guys or providing relief for us, God is Just. One of the interesting questions people ask during a tragedy begins with “How could God allow….” We understand justice to a small degree. God, however, will mete out perfect justice.

I don’t think we’ve ever seen perfect justice here on earth. We see justice handed down in courts but often it is flawed. The guilty go free because of lawyers who know how to manipulate the law. Sometimes innocent people are incarcerated because of lousy lawyers not knowing how to go up against better lawyers. And that’s just through the legal system. What about the crimes and injustices that never make it into the court room?

God knows all and sees all. Nothing escapes his watchful eye. Nothing. I really don’t know how God will sort it out in the end with the impossible number of wrongs and injustices committed, but God certainly does. We need to have faith that He will do what is right and just in the end.