So much of mortal life is disorderly, seemingly unjust and unfair. The natural, physical order of a fallen world, along with the consequences of human myopia, imperfection, callousness, selfishness, and greed, can lead to chronic hunger, disease, trauma, abuse, violence, exploitation, degrading treatment, and challenging circumstances.
Jesus Christ promises not simply to restore what was, but what should be. Through His every good gift and grace, we can look forward to the restoration and restitution of what a loving, almighty God would wish us to have.
Restoration and restitution can begin in this life as we, with faith and hope in Jesus Christ, make peace with each other and rise above our circumstances.
I remember traveling with a priesthood leader in a distant country that had suffered the atrocities of war. As we passed a certain bend in the river, he said, “When I was in school, soldiers came and tied the hands of my classmates behind their backs and threw them into the river to drown.” Miraculously, he was spared. “For a long time,” he said, “life had no purpose, meaning, or justice.”
He continued, “One night many years later, I saw in a dream one of my classmates who had been drowned. He was wearing a white shirt and black pants. He was smiling. I wondered how he could be smiling and at peace. He was holding what I later understood was a sacrament tray, a symbol of sacred ordinances and covenants. He told me I could find meaning and peace in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I have found His peace and purpose in my life.”
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Even in the worst of circumstances, things beyond anything we can imagine or would want ever to recall, we can remember the Lamb of God and the price and debt He has paid for us. Sometimes only possible through Jesus Christ, forgiveness liberates. Sometimes only possible in Jesus Christ, hope frees us from the past to have a future. This world is full of injustice, iniquity, inequity, unfairness, and hurt. “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good” is Jesus Christ’s admonition to each of us. In some way, we have all been wronged, insulted, ignored, battered, or traumatized—and, in some way, we have all hurt, misused, neglected others, whether deliberately or unintentionally. Saith the Lord, “Recompense to no man evil for evil”; “avenge not yourselves for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay.”
As One who knows, the Lamb of God gently entreats us, “Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.” Our good on its own is never sufficient to overcome the world; nor have we reason on our own to be of good cheer. That is why we trust and express gratitude that the Lamb of God promises, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
These promises are for not only a future life. They are for us here and now. Jesus Christ lives and loves us. He calls and comes to us today. When there is so much hurt and challenge in mortality, Jesus Christ invites us to minister good—to clothe the naked, feed the hungry, liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted.
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Read more in “The Shepherd and the Lamb”
Elder Gong writes, “As our Good Shepherd and the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ succors and saves. He lifts and liberates. He rises above and descends below all things.”
To help readers better understand these two roles of our Savior, Elder Gong examines the unique blessings that Jesus Christ offers. As our Good Shepherd, He calls and gathers His sheep to Him. He ministers to the one and strengthens us as we reach out to each other. As the Lamb of God, He restores that which was lost and should be found. Available at Deseret Book and deseretbook.com.
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