Say you wrested a shard of glass from its setting in a beautiful mosaic, took it home and placed it on the table and declared to anyone in earshot, “This is a magnificent piece of art!” Ken Wytsma says, “No matter how lovely that single shard was it in no way captures the glory of the whole” (6). And yet often our treatment of justice, is a mere single shard treatment:
Justice is like a mosiac. It’s not only about single pieces–it’s about all the pieces working together in a stunning whole. All too often we believe that our desire to pursue justice can only be lived out or understood in a single shard. Criminal justice. International development. Creation care. Education. Anti-trafficking. Works of mercy and love.
All of these shards are vital parts of God’s mosaic of justice. (Wytsma, Pursuing Justice 6-7)
Wytsma’s book Pursuing Justice explores the multifaceted nature of justice and helps us get a sense of God’s larger vision for Justice. Wytsma, who launched the annual Justice Conference is passionate about presenting justice in all its full-orbed flavor. So he explores how justice helps us know God and live in light of the good news, gives us meaning significance and happiness, confronts our own religious hypocrisy, and challenges our consumerism. worship,He also explores how justice, needs to be done justly and wisely to be truly just, and the ways that jutice enables real relationship between people and people and people and God.
The chapters of this book are punctuated with interludes—interviews, poems, pictures and poetic prose which evoke our concern for deeper justice. Wytsma tackles some heavy issues (i.e. sex trafficking and sexual violence, racism, poverty, etc. These little ‘interludes’ help maintain a hospitable place to explore the issues.
I liked this book a lot and plan to refer back to it. It is rare to find an author that opens up the concept of justice so completely. I mean, Wolterstorff, kind of does but he isn’t accessible to the general reader. Wytsma on the other hand has graphics, stories and personal examples which are compelling. I give this book five stars and recommend this to anyone wishing to explore the meanng of God’s justice and what it means to act justly and love mercy. ★★★★★
I received this book from the publisher for the purposes of review.
thoughts, prayers & songs: 
