“I used to believe that doing justice was possible. But now I have seen that hope is naïve: it just isn’t going to happen. Micah is for the young and the idealistic.“

Last summer, Comment magazine publishing partner Steven Garber wrote a powerful introduction to a new idea: Making peace with proximate justice. In Garber’s extensive travels, he is learning that what keeps Christians in politics going is accepting that something is better than nothing—making peace with some justice, some mercy, all the while realizing that it will only be in the new heaven and new earth that we find all our longings finally fulfilled. Then, three weeks ago, Garber again published a reprise on proximate justice, based on recent experience in Asia.

Now, Comment has approached a small group of readers who are pursuing vocations in politics and justice, and asked them to grapple with the concept of proximate justice in their respective lines of work.

The conversation continues today.

Jump to:

• A student-at-law responds, James Brink
• Living in the tension between the ages, Rob Burns
• Searching for metaphors, Eden Garber
• Today I saw a child die, Elliott Garber
• The most sustainable way to engage in politics, Joel Harris
• Singing notes of the song, Mike Hogeterp
• Good for the long haul, Jedd Medefind
• Some justice: a taste of what is to come, Derek Miedema
• Seeking proximate justice in Washington, D.C., Ryan Streeter
• The oxymoron of proximate justice, Christen Borgman Yates