Tobie van der Westhuizen, Justice, and a Weekend of Shared Conversation

Wayne Jacobsen describes a recent in-person weekend with Tobie van der Westhuizen, whose years of research on a Greek word usually translated “righteousness” became the book *Just Love*. After a year of writing together, the two men finally met and spent three days with about forty people who had traveled to join the conversation. Jacobsen says they worked well together and that he came away valuing Tobie and his wife as friends.

He also notes that the attendees, who came from many backgrounds and traditions, engaged the ideas personally, asking how God’s love might change their own struggles and relationships. Friendships grew over meals and long talks. Jacobsen sees this as evidence of Jesus shaping his people through the Spirit rather than through human systems.

The post argues that translating the word as “justice” shifts the focus from human moral perfection to God making all things right. In Jacobsen’s account, God’s justice in Christ forgives sin, heals hearts, restores relationships, and makes creation whole. This change begins as people rest in God’s love, so they no longer need to exploit others or chase the world’s substitutes, and they become free to live generously.

Jacobsen suggests that God’s holiness, understood this way, is beautiful rather than intimidating, since God will not ignore evil, abandon the abused, or leave people trapped in deception. Because many attendees asked for more gatherings, he says they will see where God leads, given Tobie’s distance from the United States and his work in South Africa. He closes by encouraging readers to find people with whom they can explore this honestly. He also shares that he is receiving chemotherapy for multiple myeloma, and that people were surprised he looked well.

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