Justice is a word we hear often. It is used a lot today with regard to the increasing problems of violence and crime. Justice, in this context, often means punishment and revenge; punishment for crimes committed; vengeance for the victims who have suffered loss and injury. While this popular understanding of justice has its place, it is not the understanding of justice we find in the Bible.

When we recite the pledge of allegiance, we conclude with the words: "with freedom and justice for all." The pledge expresses the ideal that to live in the United States is to enjoy the benefits of freedom and justice. Justice is a promise to all people living in the U.S. It's like saying "Uncle Sam is on your side."

After all, taking sides is what justice is all about. For example, when a case is tried in court, a lawyer represents each side. Each lawyer takes his or her client's side and argues accordingly. The goal is to convince the judge to rule in his or her client's favor, the assumption being that the judge is impartial. The judge rules based on the evidence and testimony presented. No personal bias or prejudice is supposed to get in the way of a fair and just decision. While it is important to take sides in the quest for justice, justice is best administered when the judge is impartial and unbiased.

God's idea of justice, however, is quite different from our human idea. God is the ultimate judge of the universe. Nothing escapes God's judgment, and God is not impartial. God is the judge who passionately takes sides with the poor and the weak. For God, justice is experienced in the relationship of covenant love. Justice must be a priority for those who live in covenant with God. God has come to us in Jesus Christ, through whom God has shown the world what justice looks like. Justice is the chief attribute of God's activity in the world. This is illustrated by the Beatitudes (Luke 6:17-31; Matthew 5:3-12), where we see that God's justice is biased in favor of the poor, the oppressed, the weak, the vulnerable. God's justice acts in their favor and against those who cause their suffering.

God's justice is about establishing and maintaining community. God's greatest concern is to protect the community as a whole by ensuring the basic rights of all, especially the poor, weak, and powerless. This concern for the most vulnerable is the main purpose of the law and of God's mission for the world in Jesus Christ. In this definition of justice, God promises to save the poor, the weak, and the vulnerable and bring down the powerful and wealthy who exploit and oppress those for whom God has special concern (see 1 Samuel 2:8; Amos 5:10-13, 18-24; Luke 1:46-55). God takes the side of the poor and the vulnerable because no one else will. Therefore, to be in relationship with God, to be on God's side is to be on the side of the poor and vulnerable of the world.

John Wesley knew this very well. He understood very clearly the danger that wealth and power present to the life of faith. His understanding of God's justice is revealed in the multitude of stands he took on behalf of the poor and oppressed peoples of the world. Wesley spoke out against merchants who charged unfair prices for their goods, distillers whose products destroyed the body, physicians who deliberately prolonged their patients' illnesses in order to continue collecting fees, and lawyers who abused their profession. Wesley protested the oppressions of war, colonialism, and slavery. He understood that the ones who fought the wars, maintained the colonial structures, and suffered in slavery were the poor and powerless of the world.

Because of his understanding of God's way of justice, Wesley worked very hard to provide free health care, education, and job training to the poor of London and of England. He created a credit union from which poor people could borrow money to gain freedom from debtors' prison, and he helped people find employment. Wesley knew that the gospel of Christ could not be heard over the growl of an empty stomach or the cries of hungry children. His was a witness to Jesus Christ and his justice in and for the world.

John Wesley is a good model for us as we seek to identify acts of justice today. Many of the conditions he faced are still with us. We can find ways to help the poor lift themselves out of poverty and hopelessness by:

• Supporting the local food bank and literacy and job training programs with money and time.
• Supporting the work of service agencies in their work with crime victims, conflict resolution, and domestic violence with gifts and time.
• Participating in government by voting, attending public meetings, and speaking out/writing about justice issues.

Another act of justice may be to look inward to examine your own attitudes toward the poor, the prisoner, and the outcast. Do you welcome them into your fellowship? Is the church a place where they could experience God's hospitality and grace?

Acts of justice are the public extension of the private acts of compassion. To do justice is to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. To love God is to love justice. To love God is to love what God loves and to love those whom God loves. And what God loves is the world, especially those who are poor, hungry, abused, and vulnerable. So then, to witness to Jesus Christ in the world through acts of justice is to serve those among whom Christ lives today.