justice will be served... eventually

2 Thessalonians 1:5-10

The key words in this passage are judgement, just, punish, trouble and belief. The main theme is the judgement that will come when Christ comes to earth. Paul is reminding the church that Christ has not forgotten them and that justice will be served but it will be served according to Christ's timeline and his agenda, not ours. Paul's hope is that his reminder will help the church to persevere and not abandon hope and faith in the middle of the trials that they are facing.
This passage teaches me patience. I am sometimes eager for justice and, by my attitude I am saying that I know better than God how and when to bring judgement. God is the judge and he is just, but he is also patient and gracious. Sometimes my attitude is too much like Jonah's - I deserve God's grace and patience but nobody else does. Sometimes I appeal to fairness - that it isn't fair that people who break the rules and live for themselves have more than I do. God has to remind me that the fact that what I have isn't "fair" either. God has to remind me that I am dependent on his grace and that I don't deserve to know him or have even the faintest hope of eternity with him. He also has to remind me that my brand of justice is inferior to his because mine depends more on my mood and my selfishness. God's depends on truth, righteousness and goodness. When I can remember this, there is no one else I'd rather have sitting on the throne of judgement than God.