- The police to take strong control of things and
- God's Spirit to come in revival upon the land.
Sometimes i'm not sure our minds can connect grace & justice together in this way. Often talking to various Christians i've found either a 'lovey dovey' attitude where everyone's to be forgiven and no one should really be punished. Or a 'throw the book at them' mentality that would have them shot on the spot, (in case your wondering i tend to slide into the throw the book at them side of things).
But, really, i don't think these need to be separate, and that we can indeed wish for both. People should be held accountable by the government (Romans 13:1-7), and we are responsible for telling all people the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:18-20).
A huge thing to remember is that one of these jobs belongs solely to the government (whether they do it or not), and the other is the calling of every Christian.
Losing the 'Them
It is so easy to frown upon or avoid people because they are sinners and we are . . . self righteous wingnuts, (sorry, but we can be . . . a lot). It's not wrong to want justice, but it is wrong to see ourselves as 'better' than, or to distance ourselves from sinners who need Jesus just as much as we do, since we are sinners like them . . . (Ally Simpson has a thought provoking post on this - the comments are worth reading too).
Them & me . . .
Made in the image of God, like me
Fallen & sinful, like me
Helpless to save self, like me
In need of the Gospel & Grace of Christ, like me
