Subtitle: The letter and the spirit of the law
On a main thoroughfare, about a mile from my home, is a lawyer’s office, fronted by a conspicuous roadside sign flashing in bright crimson neon a scripture citation: Isaiah 43.2.[1]
I don’t know the attorney. Yet I assume the publicizing of a biblical reference is an expression of scripture-rooted beliefs and values.
A dear friend and attorney, Woodley Beal Osborne, once said to me, “Paul, there’s a reason it’s called law school and not justice school.”
Yes, there’s a difference, sometimes vast, between law as a system of behavioral regulatory rules established and enforced by society and government[2] and justice, whether rooted in natural law or sacred principle, that ethical, universal and unconditional quality of fairness for all people.
As a follower of Jesus who seeks to share love and justice with all people, I wonder where this barrister draws the line between conventional jurisprudence and scriptural justice. As the law and justice, though related, are not the same, my hunch is that he must. I also guess that he has discerned an unassailable bond between the law and justice and, thus, seeks to do just law.
Perchance one day, driven by more than mere curiosity, I may stop by and inquire.
© 2022 PRA
[1] Isaiah 43.2: When you pass through the waters, I, the Lord God, will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
[2] The fitting and fruitful application of which can be dictated by time and place, person and circumstance, and degrees of personal and financial resources.
occasional observations of mind and heart, soul and spirit 