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By Joe Slater
The Lone Ranger – Perry Mason – Superman. When you watched those old black-and-white TV shows, you knew all along that by the time the credits rolled the bad guys would be defeated, the good guys would be vindicated, and justice would prevail. No matter how hopeless it looked, the Lone Ranger and Tonto would arrest the bandits, Perry Mason would prove his client innocent, and Superman would confound the crooks.
Real life doesn’t quite match a thirty-minute drama, or even a sixty-minute one, does it? Innocent people get railroaded! Criminals remain free! Might makes right! Whatever shall we do about life’s inequities?
First, make certain you aren’t the perpetrator of evil. “Let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters” (1 Peter 4:15).
Second, when you suffer despite being innocent, take it patiently as a way to glorify God. That goes double if being a Christian is the cause of the abuse (1 Peter 4:16). Jesus suffered infinitely more than you ever will, and He was 100% innocent. You shouldn’t expect to be treated better than He was.
Finally, rest assured that justice really will prevail in the final analysis. It will take longer than thirty or sixty minutes. In fact, it may not happen in your lifetime! But, as the old song says, “There’s a great day coming by and by.” We might prefer to see all the accounts settled now. Since God’s wisdom eclipses ours, however, we will do well to “run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:10).
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