Day 126 When Justice Has Its Claim

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus tells his followers that they are the salt of the earth, and in the same sentence offers a warning that savorless salt is good for nothing. Join me in an attempt to be savory salt as I share each day one verse of scripture and one small thought. Perhaps this small daily emphasis can lead to greater savor in your life and ultimately you and I can be savory salt.

Hello, my friends and family, wherever you're listening from. Thank you for joining me and know that I'm cheering for your every success. Welcome to day 126 on our 365 day journey through the Book of Mormon.

We're going to continue Abinadi's teachings today through reading Mosiah chapter 15 verses 22 to 31. We will finish chapter 15 and then we're also going to begin Mosiah chapter 16 by reading verses 1 through 6. Our reading today is Abinadi coming full circle and talking directly to the priests of King Noah by letting them know what happens with those that are selected in terms of followers of Christ and those that reject Christ.

Verse 26 is going to give you a little bit of context about what we're going to talk about, but we're actually going to be using Mosiah 15, verse 27 in our verse for the day. 26 is talking about those that rebel against Christ. And then 27 says this: Therefore ought ye not to tremble? Remember, he's talking to the priests here.

For salvation cometh to none such, for the Lord hath redeemed none such. Yea, neither can the Lord redeem such, for he cannot deny himself, for he cannot deny justice when it has its claim. Now he's talking about those that reject the commandments, those that don't follow through with their covenants, those that break their covenants.

And it's interesting here because as he talks about them, this sentence stuck out to me in a way it never had before. He cannot deny justice when it has its claim. I've always understood justice to be able to be carried out through the mercy and merits of Jesus Christ.

And it got me thinking about perhaps one of the greatest illustrations of justice and mercy being an example, a story called "The Mediator" by President Packer. He first shared it years ago, probably I think in the '70s in General Conference. And then it became a video that was very common in seminaries for a long time.

Maybe you've even seen it in seminary. I don't know. But it's called "The Mediator." I'll make sure that there's a link inside of the podcast episode today by President Packer.

But here's the interesting thing about this piece here. He cannot deny justice when it has its claim. I imagine in the story of "The Mediator," there's a man that takes a loan out for his farm and then it gets to the point where he's not able to fulfill the obligations that he signed on that loan.

And in comes his friend and his friend plays the mediator between the man that is giving the loan and the man that cannot pay the loan. And he comes in and he says, "I will pay this man's debt and I will become the mediator and then I will hold his debt and seek to it." And President Packer does a beautiful job of explaining how the Savior plays that role. And I think the interesting thing that stood out to me here with this phrase that Abinadi teaches is if I were to go back and replay "The Mediator" in my mind, what would happen if the man who had the loan on the house just turned to that friend and said, "No, I don't accept those terms.

I reject those terms. I don't want you to play the person that pays off my debt." And if that were the case, that man wouldn't be able to pay off the debt because it wouldn't be through the will of the person that owed the money in the first place. And I'd never seen it that way before.

But what Abinadi is saying here is if you just flat out reject the role of the Savior in your life and don't fulfill the commandments and the covenants that he set before you, you are in effect saying, "I don't want your help to pay off the debts that I have." Now, in the story of "The Mediator" that would have ultimately led to debtor's prison, right? He would have gone to prison and had to stay in prison until he could pay his debt. And I think that what Abinadi is trying to say here is for those that can pay their debts, that reject the mediator in their life, justice has claim on them and the Lord, being the Lord, cannot deny himself.

He cannot deny justice when it has its claim. It really has given me a different perspective in terms of wanting to accept the Lord in my life and see the role that Jesus Christ is trying to play as my mediator with the Father when it comes to repenting of my sins and shortcomings. Perhaps there's something there to think about.

I hope you enjoy reliving the days of "The Mediator," or if you've never seen it before, I hope it has a powerful effect in your life as you see the role the Savior plays as the mediator. And hopefully accept the role the Savior plays as our mediator in our lives today. That's all for today, my friends.

Remember that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass. Keep it small, keep it simple, and always seek to be savory salt. I'll be here tomorrow and I hope you are too.