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Suppose that there existed on death row ten brothers, each one a murderer many times over. All the same in guilt, all deserving death for their crimes. Justice having decided that they should die, it is justice for them to do so, yes? Consider then, that on the day before their executions, the governor pardons half of them and grants them life. Is it then fair for the remaining five to die, seeing as their brothers received a merciful reprieve? The answer is yes, for justice is served with their deaths, as it was previously decided. Mercy is not earned, it is a gift, and as we can see in the case of the brothers, it goes over the head of justice. When a person is guilty, justice is served in punishment, and mercy is, in a sense, unfair. Or rather, mercy is not about fairness, but about a gift. It is not unfair for a man to show mercy on one, but not to another, for gifts are not required to be given equally to all.
When throwing a party for a person, we do not give everyone presents of equal worth, rather we lavish one person with much, and we do not consider it to be unfair to everyone else. Instead, we remark on how lucky that person is. And so it is with mercy, and so it is with God. We cannot call God unfair for showing mercy to some, when we all deserve punishment. No, we must instead remark upon their great blessing.
There is a story told of a mother who came before Napoleon, begging that he spare her son, who had deserted the army. Napoleon said that it would not be just, would not be fair, to spare her son, to which she replied that she was not asking for justice, but for mercy. It is foolish argument to say that God is unfair, when it is only by his mercy that he doesn't destroy the whole lot of us.
When throwing a party for a person, we do not give everyone presents of equal worth, rather we lavish one person with much, and we do not consider it to be unfair to everyone else. Instead, we remark on how lucky that person is. And so it is with mercy, and so it is with God. We cannot call God unfair for showing mercy to some, when we all deserve punishment. No, we must instead remark upon their great blessing.
There is a story told of a mother who came before Napoleon, begging that he spare her son, who had deserted the army. Napoleon said that it would not be just, would not be fair, to spare her son, to which she replied that she was not asking for justice, but for mercy. It is foolish argument to say that God is unfair, when it is only by his mercy that he doesn't destroy the whole lot of us.
