Rethinking God With Tacosਨਮੂਨਾ

Day 7: The Long Game:

Welcome to the seventh and final day of the Rethinking God with Tacos plan. Today we’re landing where so much of our rethinking leads: at the intersection of justice and love. These two ideas are often seen as opposites, but in Jesus, we see that true justice is love.

For much of history—and for many of us—justice has meant punishment. You break it, you pay for it. Eye for an eye. Tooth for a tooth. That's the system the world has run on since the beginning. But then Jesus comes along in Matthew 5:38–42, and flips the whole thing upside down.

He doesn’t just ask us to let go of revenge. He invites us to imagine a world where justice looks like restoration. Where wrongs aren’t punished—they’re made right through the long game of love. A justice that is powerfully transformative.

He goes even further: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44, NIV).

This is definitely not how we’ve been taught to think about justice. But that’s the point. Proverbs 14:12 (NIV) reminds us, “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.”

Just because a retributive justice feels fair to us doesn’t mean it reflects the heart of God.

And Jesus proves it—not just with His words, but with His life.

As He hung on the cross—beaten, betrayed, wrongfully accused—He didn’t cry out for revenge. He didn’t call down fire. Instead, He said: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34, NIV).

That is what God's justice looks like. It's not about punishment; it's about transformation, it’s about mercy, forgiveness and restoration.

And that leads us into the final chapter: “The Long Arc of Love.”

God is not in a hurry. He’s not anxious or reactionary. His justice isn’t short-term or short-tempered. It unfolds over time and even beyond—like seeds breaking through hard ground. Like healing that takes longer than we hoped. Like a measureless grace that keeps circling back.

You may have heard the phrase, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” When Jesus is the one bending that arc, it bends toward love. A love that restores all things.

We may not always see it. Life often feels unjust, unhealed, and unresolved. But God is not finished. His justice is still unfolding. And His justice is not retribution. It’s reconciliation.

So today, take heart: every act of mercy, every refusal to retaliate, every moment you choose restorative love instead of punishment—you’re participating in the long arc. You’re joining Jesus in His kind of justice. And that changes everything in your life and the world.

Thank you so much for joining me on this 7-day journey! I hope that you've been equipped and inspired throughout this plan. If you want to keep exploring these ideas, check out my book Rethinking God with Tacos—a fresh look at the gospel, grace, and the goodness of God through the lens of Jesus—by going to rethinkinggodbook.com.

Praying grace and wonder over you today!

Jason Clark