THE CHRISTIAN LIFE models after the Christmas story in both the good and the bad. Although there was great joy and celebration with the angels, shepherds, and Magi about the birth of Jesus, there was also great sadness that was to come later. Matthew 2:16-18 records the following tragedy:

When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
”A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.”

Although the hope and joy of Christ’s birth glow within the hearts of Christians, the truth is that we are not immune to the tragedies of this fallen world and the sins of other people. Even the very arrival of God Himself into human history was marked with tragedy and mourning. We may be tempted to ask God why He allowed this evil to happen? And we may also question His sovereignty during times of great personal suffering. But we must remember that God is always in control during these trials. In this passage above, we are reminded that this horrible act was prophesied in the Old Testament and foreknown by God. In other words, God is in control, and He will have His justice!

Some people have a hard time reconciling an angry God with One who is intensely loving. But can love really exist without justice and righteous anger? Would it be loving or fair to Rachel whose children were massacred if God simply brushed off Herod’s murders? The important thing to remember is that love and justice go hand-in-hand. In fact, love without justice is not called love at all—it’s called a mockery and an insult.

When Christ came to the earth, his purpose was to bring glory to the Father by becoming the sacrificial lamb who would reveal the supreme love and mercy and grace of a holy God. Jesus brought to us “tidings of peace.” But there will come a time when Jesus will return not as a lamb, but as a Lion. And the sword of his justice will be unleashed against all the Herods of this world in a final display of holy justice and wrath. It will be an fearsome sight!