Recently I found myself in a room full of children and discovered I had no ability to gain their attention or keep order. It gave me an appreciation for teachers, who manage both every day. That experience made me wonder whether many people imagine God in a similar way. If God exists at all, perhaps he seems unable to keep this unruly world under control. After all, we see war, injustice, suffering and personal struggles that appear unresolved. At St Peter’s, we have been thinking about the difficult subject of God’s judgement. It’s not a topic that sits comfortably with most people. Yet it raises an important question: what if there is no final justice? Can we really be satisfied with a world where evil goes unpunished? The Christian faith teaches that God’s judgement is good because it means injustice will not have the last word. Yet the Bible says all of us fall short of God’s standards. It also declares that forgiveness is available through Jesus Christ. Christians believe that at the cross, God himself bore the judgement we deserve, opening the way for mercy without abandoning justice.

Craig Langstaff, Minister, St Peter’s Church (Article published in edition of ‘Heads News’. June 2026)