THE WHEELS OF JUSTICE TURN SLOWLY

2/7/18

The wheels of justice turn slowly, but grind exceedingly fine. >
One of Longfellow's translations was a 17th century poem, ‘Retribution,’ by Friedrich Von Logau:

:Though the mills of God grind slowly,, yet they grind exceeding small;
: Though with patience he stands waiting, with exactness grinds he all.
One would wonder why it takes so long for decisions to be made in our court systems and in our government today. Indeed, the wheels of justice do turn ever so slowly, and yet I doubt that they grind exceedingly fine. Instead, it seems that the wheels of justice turn perhaps in the other direction, grinding out stones that become even coarser.

In fact it's such a slow process these days that one would wonder how anything can ever get decided. I realize that any topic that relates to politics or a governmental system is frowned upon as taboo, and yet every day we see the machinery of justice breaking down all around us.

The apparatus is broken, the system needs to be repaired and yet, there is no one skilled enough to fix a broken system when its players continue to follow a plan that only leads into more and more confusion and dysfunction. We are told that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results'.

But of course one wouldn'’'t even consider doing things differently because the mice need to follow the same patterns that they have been trained to do again and again. Those in charge are following patterns in a never-ending maze where there is no end in sight. And the only reward for those who are watching is the smallest block of cheese every day. Our portion has become smaller and smaller as the elite eat at the grandest table of all.

But we are told not to follow the patterns of this present world. We are to look beyond the bounds of this present age to those things that are eternal. There is still manna to be found by those who would seek those things above. Our sustenance doesn’t come from the endless toils of a broken system. It comes from a heavenly Father who owns the cattle on a thousand hills. And yet we do live in this world. Most of us have jobs to do and bills to pay and families to feed. And we all marvel at how true justice perhaps would ever prevail. The folly of a system that has so much red tape in it would make one wonder if anything could ever it done.

The wheels of justice do indeed turn ever so slowly, grinding out endless paper and referendums. But the time will come when justice will roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. Amos 5:24

Stephen Hanson