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Do Justice and Love Mercy
Living out Our Biblical Worldview

June 12, 2006


Note: This commentary was delivered by Prison Fellowship President Mark Earley.


If I were to ask you to imagine what a typical U.S. marshal looks like, you might think of John Wayne as Rooster Cogburn in True Grit. Or maybe Tommy Lee Jones in The Fugitive. Tough guys, gun in hand, pursuing justice with steely-eyed coolness.

This March, the U.S. Marshals Service appointed a new director—John Clark, a twenty-three-year veteran of the department. Like the other men and women of U.S. Marshals Service, Clark is an expert at protecting the public and chasing down the "bad guys." But a recent Chicago Tribune article reveals that there's something different about Clark—something you won't see in the movies.

You see, even though Clark spends most of his time bringing criminals to justice, he spends his Christmas holidays delivering presents to the children of these same "bad guys" through Prison Fellowship's Angel Tree® program.

Clark told the Chicago Tribune: "We see the individual going to jail and some heinous crime has been committed and we think that guy or gal deserves it. What we forget is at home there is a mom or son or daughter or youngsters that are the innocent victims of this person's criminal mindset."

So what could motivate a man like Clark—or anyone—to bring offenders to justice but, at the same time, to reach out in mercy? It's a biblical worldview: a worldview that takes seriously God's command through the prophet Micah to do justice and to love mercy—at the same time! And a worldview that sees each human being—criminals, their families, victims of crime—as created in the image of God.

Sadly, the American criminal justice system and our society as a whole see offenders solely as criminals who should be locked up and forgotten.

Don't get me wrong. As the former attorney general of Virginia, I know there are plenty of violent criminals whom we must incarcerate to protect the public. But I shake my head in sad wonder today that of our two million souls in prisons in America, nearly half are there for nonviolent offenses. Even more sobering is the fact that each year, some 600,000 men and women leave prison ill prepared to reenter society as productive citizens. In fact, nearly two-thirds of them will be rearrested within three years. That's not promoting public safety.

So, what's the Church to do? Simply this: Live out God's command to do justice and love mercy. How? Work to reform the criminal justice system in a way that holds offenders accountable by forcing them to pay restitution to their victims and by performing needed community service. We need to work to end the "one-size-fits-all" sentencing practices. We need to work to give crime victims a voice in the process.

At the same time, we need to bring the transforming power of the Gospel to prisoners. We need to meet prisoners at the gate when they leave prison, ready to draw them into our churches, to mentor them as they make the transition from confinement to freedom. And, like the head of the U.S. Marshal Service, we need to minister to the families of prisoners to ensure that they remain intact and that their children are not swept up into the generational cycle of crime.

Visit our websites at prisonfellowship.org and justicefellowship.org. We can show you how you and your church, like the head of the U.S. Marshall Service, can do justice and love mercy.




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Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone
who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He
rewards those who earnestly seek Him. --Hebrews 11



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If you look closely at the web of a giant golden orb spider
(Nephila edulis), you might see much smaller spiders on it. These
round, silvery nest parasites are droplet spiders (Argyrodes
antipodianus) waiting for small prey that their giant host ignores.

Small prey insects are not the droplet spiders' only food. These
crafty little thieves sometimes band together and carefully steal
large prey that the host spider has caught and wrapped, but not yet eaten.

One by one, they cut the lines between the catch and the main web,
carefully repairing damage by bridging the gap with their own webs.
Then they carry the prey off to a corner, where they can safely
consume it. What an Amazing Creator!!!

Pictures of Nephila and droplet spiders:
http://www.xs4all.nl/~ednieuw/australian/nephila/Nephila.html

A spider enthusiast's observations of spiders, including Nephila:
http://home.wxs.nl/~voort359/home22.html

{Double click on the web address above for additional information:}



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One of the reasons for the success of the internet is its open,
peer-to-peer nature. All computers on the internet are equal,
and in the past it hasn't mattered whether your computer is
a 386 in Nguru on the end of a satellite phone or a big monster
in a New York rack. If that ever changes, I think we will lose
part of the essential, vital character of the internet. Doug Winter


===============


An elderly patient needed a heart transplant and discussed his options
with his doctor. The doctor said, "We have 3 possible donors; the 1st is
a young, healthy athlete who died in an automobile accident, the 2nd is
a middle-aged businessman who never drank or smoked and who died
flying his private jet. The 3rd is an attorney who died after practicing law
for 30 years. Which do you want?" "I'll take the lawyer's heart",
said the patient. After a successful transplant, the doctor asked
the patient why he had chosen the donor he did. "It was easy,"
said the patient, "I wanted a heart that hadn't been used."


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Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all
circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
--1 Thessalonians 5


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A UNC student's English prof paid a visit to his house one day. When the
student opened the door, she asked "Are your father and mother in, Mr. Morton?"

"They was in, but they is out." he answered.

The UNC English prof. gasped, "Why, Mr. Morton, it is 'They were in,
they are out.' Where's your grammar?"

"She's upstairs taking her nap."


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I believe an Englishman named Frances Thompson penned one of the most
profound poems ever written. Thompson was a genius, but he became a drug
addict and was on the run for many years of his life. Towards the later
part of his life he wrote that magnificent masterpiece he called "The
Hound of Heaven." The poem describes God as a persistent hound who, with
loving feet, follows and follows until he catches up with this person who
is trying to run and flee from him. He writes,

"I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;
I fled Him, down the arches of the years;
I fled him down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind; and in the midst of tears
I hid from Him, and under running laughter.
Up vistaed hopes I sped;
And shot, precipitated,
Adown Titanic glooms of chasmed fears,
From those strong Feet that followed, followed after."

As the poem comes to an end, Thompson depicts the persistent cry of God to
the one who flees his presence, the one He pursues to the end:

"Ah, fondest, blindest, weakest,
I am He Whom thou seekest!
Thou dravest love from thee, who dravest Me."

With the wisdom of one who had found himself chased after, Thompson notes
the heart of God and the contradiction of man. We run away, fearful that
if we have God, we might have nothing else beside. And God says, "You
were weak and blind and miserable when you were driving me away, because
you were actually driving love away from you. It is Me you seek."

The life and ministry of the prophet Hosea is a fascinating, mystifying
look at the love of God and man's readiness to push that love away. His
message will send a deep ray of hope into our hearts if we listen
carefully. Hosea was a prophet called by God to marry Gomer, a harlot who
continually left the loving home Hosea had provided to return to her life
of prostitution. We can almost hear the whispers among the people to whom
Hosea faithfully preached, until someone is brave enough to ask. "Hosea,
can you tell us how it is you continue to love this woman, a woman who has
so betrayed you and repeatedly abandoned her commitment to you? How can a
holy man of God like you be joined to a woman such as this?" And Hosea
says, "I will be delighted to answer your question if you will first
answer a question of mine. How can a holy God like this love such a
harlotrous people like us?"

The first thing about the nature of God's relationship with us is that He
gives to us a love that we do not deserve. We do not merit it. But not
only is the love of God unmerited; it is also a love that grows and is
sustained by relationship. The longer we walk with Him, the more we
understand how glorious this love is.

Through the prophet Hosea, God spoke graphically to a nation running from
His presence. As individuals, He chases after us, woos us into his arms,
pays the price to buy us back, cleans us up, and brings us home. Through
His Son, God has reached out His arms to pay the price for our sin, to
offer us new life, to give us fresh hope and meaning. Let us come to the
cross as we are: sinners needing mercy, children desiring love, souls sick
of running through our nights and days and ready to follow the One who
ordains them. Ravi Zacharias
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Faith and love are apt to be spasmodic in the best of minds.
Men and women live on the brink of mysteries and harmonies
into which they never enter and with their hand on the doorlatch
they die outside. GK Chesterton

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Puzzle: Books of the Bible
------------------------------------
Can you find the names of 25 books of the Bible in this paragraph?
This is a most remarkable puzzle. Someone found it in the seat
pocket on a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu, keeping himself
occupied for hours. One man from Illinois worked on this while
fishing from his john boat. Roy Clark studied it while playing his
banjo. Elaine Victs mentioned it in her column once. One woman
judges the job to be so involving, she brews a cup of tea to help
calm her nerves. There will be some names that are really easy to
spot...that's a fact. Some people will soon find themselves in a
jam, especially since the book names are not necessarily
capitalized. The truth is, from answers we get, we are forced to
admit it usually takes a minister or scholar to see some of them at
the worst. Something in our genes is responsible for the difficulty
we have. Those able to find all of them will hear great
lamentations from those who have t! o be shown. One revelation may
help, books like! Timothy and Samuel may occur without their
numbers. And punctuation or spaces in the middle are normal. A
chipper attitude will help you compete. Remember, there are 25
books of the Bible lurking somewhere in this paragraph.

Happy Hunting

(Send your answer to Howdy so that we can place your
name & school/company/State/Country in the next issue)


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Who is Jesus?
(http://www.ccci.org/whoisjesus/interactive-journey/)

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It's amazing, but you will understand the above word by the end of the
conversation. Read aloud for best results.

Be warned, you're going to find yourself talking funny for a while
after reading this #1 rated e-mail joke of 1999.

The following is a telephone exchange between a hotel guest and
room-service at a hotel in Asia, which was recorded and published in
the Far East Economic Review.....

Room Service (RS): "Morny. Ruin sorbees"
Guest (G): "Sorry, I thought I dialed room-service"
RS: "Rye..Ruin sorbees..morny! Djewish to odor sunteen??"
G : "Uh..yes..I'd like some bacon and eggs"
RS: "Ow July den?"
G : "What??"
RS: "Ow July den?...pry, boy, pooch?"
G : "Oh, the eggs! How do I like them? Sorry, scrambled please."RS:
"Ow July dee bayhcem...crease?"
G : "Crisp will be fine."
RS : "Hokay. An San tos?"
G : "What?"
RS:"San tos. July San tos?"
G : "I don't think so"
RS: "No? Judo one toes??"
G : "I feel really bad about this, but I don't know what 'judo one
toes' means."
RS: "Toes! toes!...why djew Don Juan toes? Ow bow singlish mopping we
bother?"
G : "English muffin!! I've got it! You were saying 'Toast.' Fine. Yes,
an English muffin will be fine."
RS: "We bother?"
G : "No..just put the bother on the side."
RS: "Wad?"
G : "I mean butter...just put it on the side."
RS: "Copy?"
G : "Sorry?"
RS: "Copy...tea...mill?"
G : "Yes. Coffee please, and that's all."
RS: "One Minnie. Asss ruin torino fee, strangle ache, crease baychem,
tossy singlish mopping we bother honey sigh,and copy....rye??"
G : "Whatever you say"
RS: "Tendjewberrymud"
G : "You're welcome"
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God Bless The USA

http://www.ishaah.com/America0911_04.htm

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State-of-the-art - Any computer you can't afford.

Obsolete - Any computer you own.

Microsecond - The time it takes for your state-of-the-art
computer to become obsolete.
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