Together # 65
A Together for Perseveranc
A Together for Perseveranc
Keep One Another from Revenge
copyright by Dick Wulf, 2018
Prevent acts of revenge. Monitor the resolution of conflict and follow up to see that there are no leftover hard feelings. Let God be the avenger
Lev 19:18; 1 Sam 24:12; Matt 5:38-48; Rom 12:17-21; l Thess 5:15; 1 Peter 3:9
Revenge is not love, so it does not belong in a Christian’s behavior. We are to respond to being hurt without revenge. And this is not always easy, so we need one another’s help.
The closeness of people in their Christian friendships, families and marriages will eventually reveal deep anger and resentment which could lead to revenge. It is the responsibility of these Christian Inner Circle groups to check out how people are handling their anger and sense of injustice. They can then help resolve feelings before acts of revenge are committed. Since revenge can be subtle, it is probably only in these close relationships that it can be headed off.
Letting go of anger is not an easy thing for some people to do. But with the encouragement, counsel and admonition of friends, family and spouse it can be done. Those with close Christian relationships plus other things to live for can more easily forget the injustices they have experienced.
Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong,
but always strive to do what is good for each other
and for everyone else.
l Thess 5:1
but always strive to do what is good for each other
and for everyone else.
l Thess 5:1
We live in a world where sin exists. So, we will be hurt. But, for us, nothing is fatal. Free from all fears, especially the fear of death, we are free to not avenge ourselves. Revenge has nothing to offer us.
However, evil will be avenged – just not by us. No one will get away with anything, but revenge is none of our business. So, whose is it?
However, evil will be avenged – just not by us. No one will get away with anything, but revenge is none of our business. So, whose is it?
“It is mine to avenge; I will repay.
In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster
is near and their doom rushes upon them.”
Deut 32:35
In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster
is near and their doom rushes upon them.”
Deut 32:35
When someone wrongs us, we are to take action. We are not the Judge, so we cannot take revenge. What we are called to do is whatever is right. Appropriate action is not always easy to determine, but its motivation must not be revenge. Love is the guide, but there are situations where we have to choose who to love by protecting them and who to stop with some kind of power. If someone is coming at me or anyone else with a knife to do harm, I have to love the attacker and love the target of the violence. I protect the one and use force to stop the other, but that is not revenge.
The tough situations are when someone has killed or irreparably injured someone we love and we want revenge so much. This would be a serious challenge to our faith and understanding the ways of God. Of course, the Lord will take revenge, but how are we to think about the situation so that we do not take revenge?
The tough situations are when someone has killed or irreparably injured someone we love and we want revenge so much. This would be a serious challenge to our faith and understanding the ways of God. Of course, the Lord will take revenge, but how are we to think about the situation so that we do not take revenge?
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary:
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“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” |
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
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Rom 12:17-21
Not taking revenge can be made easier if we understand what the phrase, “leave room for God’s wrath” probably means. God wants to avenge evil, but if we do, does it mean that God will back off? That seems to be what is implied. I don’t think we would want to lessen God’s wrath on someone who killed or irreparably injured someone important to us.
Imagine a situation where someone spreads lies about one of us and takes away friends. What type of revenge could we take that would not boomerang back at us in some way and make things worse? If we retaliated with lies back, we might get our friends back, but we would bring the Lord’s judgment upon ourselves. We could represent the truth about ourselves in defense, but that would not be revenge. It would be the right thing to do, and it might work. If it did not, then we would still have lived to glorify God. Then, we can back off, forgive the one who spread the lies, perhaps have the opportunity to treat well the one who hurt us, let it all go, and then proceed with life in the assurance that God will bless us in this life or in the next.
Imagine a situation where someone spreads lies about one of us and takes away friends. What type of revenge could we take that would not boomerang back at us in some way and make things worse? If we retaliated with lies back, we might get our friends back, but we would bring the Lord’s judgment upon ourselves. We could represent the truth about ourselves in defense, but that would not be revenge. It would be the right thing to do, and it might work. If it did not, then we would still have lived to glorify God. Then, we can back off, forgive the one who spread the lies, perhaps have the opportunity to treat well the one who hurt us, let it all go, and then proceed with life in the assurance that God will bless us in this life or in the next.
Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult.
On the contrary, repay evil with blessing,
because to this you were called
so that you may inherit a blessing.
1 Peter 3:9
On the contrary, repay evil with blessing,
because to this you were called
so that you may inherit a blessing.
1 Peter 3:9
Resisting revenge has its roots in being totally secure in the Lord. If God is in charge of what happens to us, if He allows hurt for some unknown benefit, what does it matter how others treat us? We are safe in the hands of God.
If someone breaks into our house and steals all of our food, what does it matter if our parents own a grocery store? If a tornado blows down our house, what does it matter if insurance will pay for another house and we have an architect in the family? If we lose our job and income but have a million-dollar trust fund, what does it matter?
It is definitely easier to bless rather than curse if we realize that we are ultimately under the protection of God. Focusing on His protection in spite of evil will help us not overreact when we are treated poorly. God can be the grocer, the house insurance policy, and the trust fund.
If someone breaks into our house and steals all of our food, what does it matter if our parents own a grocery store? If a tornado blows down our house, what does it matter if insurance will pay for another house and we have an architect in the family? If we lose our job and income but have a million-dollar trust fund, what does it matter?
It is definitely easier to bless rather than curse if we realize that we are ultimately under the protection of God. Focusing on His protection in spite of evil will help us not overreact when we are treated poorly. God can be the grocer, the house insurance policy, and the trust fund.
If God is for us, who can be against us?
Romans 8:31
Romans 8:31
It might be a little like the boy who gets beat up by bullies at school but knows that his older brother will come and settle the score. Protection is on the way. He does not have to waste energy thinking up ways to get even. In fact, later in the day he can give the bully a compliment (“you sure hit me hard, you are very strong”), yet not ask his bigger brother to withhold the beating he will give the bullies.
In this analogy, God is the big brother.
The standard for returning good rather than revenge is set very high, but it is what Jesus told us to do. We are to solve problems when we are hurt, and love in some form is most likely the solution. In tough cases, we will need to restrain one another from taking revenge and help each other identify what solutions to the problem might be tried.
So, to be restricted from revenge does not leave us powerless. It actually re-focuses our attention on solving problems, which is much more constructive. Let’s not resist helping one another solve problems rather than take revenge.
Opportunity to Become More and More Like Jesus Christ
In this analogy, God is the big brother.
The standard for returning good rather than revenge is set very high, but it is what Jesus told us to do. We are to solve problems when we are hurt, and love in some form is most likely the solution. In tough cases, we will need to restrain one another from taking revenge and help each other identify what solutions to the problem might be tried.
So, to be restricted from revenge does not leave us powerless. It actually re-focuses our attention on solving problems, which is much more constructive. Let’s not resist helping one another solve problems rather than take revenge.
Opportunity to Become More and More Like Jesus Christ
Everyone in the Norton Family has agreed that their family purpose is “to help one another enjoy life and be all that God wants them to be”. So, when 8-year-old Johnny broke his 6-year-old brother Curtis’s action figure in an angry tantrum, Mark wanted to get even. He grabbed up a toy belonging to Johnny and was about to throw it off the second story balcony when Mom stopped him. She then asked what was going on and, of course, got two different stories. But Mrs. Norton was no disinterested mother not wanting to be bothered by her children. She knew that every misbehavior was an opportunity to teach something and for her kids to learn some valuable behavior.
The consequence for the older brother Johnny was that he had to replace the action figure out of his allowance. And, for a week he could not touch anything that belonged to his brothers and sisters. If he did, he would have to stay in his room or in the kitchen where there were only his toys or no toys at all. After that he had to tell how he would take care of things that belonged to others and show he could be careful in using another sibling’s toy. Curtis had a different lesson to learn and a family meeting was called so that everyone in the family could help Curtis learn that revenge did not fit with how Christians dealt with problems because Jesus did not act that way. Revenge, it was explained, also did not fit with the reason the Norton’s were a family. The family purpose was reviewed and there was good discussion on how revenge would be destructive. After that the family helped Curtis find another solution to his problem of Johnny’s breaking his toy. They showed that being nice to his brother did not mean that Curtis should not have his toy repaired or replaced, it just meant that he was going to return evil with blessing. Six-year-old Curtis was still at that stage of wanting to please people, so he was delighted with the thought that he was acting like Jesus. Everyone prays that his attitude makes it through the teenage years. |
Just think of the revenge possibilities Jesus had after He rose from the dead. They had just killed him. They slapped him around. They ridiculed Him. His revenge could have been anything from harsh to humor. He could have struck them dead or showed up and scared the wits out of those responsible for killing Him. Or He could have mocked the authorities, maybe even floated them in the air upside down.
But, He did not take revenge. When we do not act vengeful, we are like Jesus. Being like our Lord should be enough of a reward for denying ourselves the satisfaction of getting even.
What might be some of the reasons that Jesus did not take revenge? A few come to mind that might be a way for us to think and give up vengeful thinking.
Jesus did only what the Father was doing, and that was to start building the church. Revenge would have been sin just because it would deviate from the will of God. There were astonished disciples to meet with and remove any doubt that He had risen from the dead. They needed to be absolutely sure there was life after death and a fabulous future beyond the grave, that they would have Jesus with them always “to the end of the age”, and that they had a mission to spread the good news far and wide. They needed to be bold for the rest of their lives, ready to face death if necessary. Strengthening the disciples was what God wanted done, not revenge. Revenge would have taken Jesus off course. And it will take us off course as well.
Revenge would have also been a colossal waste of time. Jesus did not waste time, either before or after His resurrection, not even for Superman-like feats. He was certainly capable of such, but there was no time to heal every illness, turn water into wine at every wedding, and right all the wrongs of the world. If there was no time to do all of those good things, there certainly was no time for something like revenge.
Revenge would have produced nothing worthwhile. The fruit of getting even would have been not only senseless, but evil. Jesus knew that the feeling of fulfillment will not come with revenge.
Revenge would have been a contradiction of Jesus’ faith. When they were crucifying Him, He had prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” To take revenge would have been completely opposite to faith’s position regarding forgiveness, the helplessness of the unredeemed to live God’s way, and the dynamics of sin.
All of these reasons are why we do not want to take revenge. Plus, it is prohibited.
So, we need each other’s help to face hurtful situations as Jesus did being murdered. We need to help one another stay on course. We have things God wants us to do. We need to help one another be so involved in the good that God created us in Christ Jesus to do, that we know we do not want to be diverted from our purpose. Many times a father has not killed the person who killed his son because he had other children to raise, which could not be done from a prison cell. That is the principle here. No matter how badly we are treated, there is still some important work of God to be continued.
If we have not spurred one another on to love and good works, we have failed God and not given those in our Christian Inner Circles reason to turn away from revenge. We need to see that everyone is committed and deeply involved in doing their part of the ministry of God for the world. Then their purpose will be too important to waste time on revenge or have the sin of revenge tarnish their godly efforts.
If anyone is considering revenge, we can also remind them that God will step in and take revenge if they let it go and let God be God. We can make sure they know revenge is prohibited and stand by them in resisting the temptation. We can remind them that others will be hurt if they go off of their assignment to spread love through their own life. We can help them see that nothing worthwhile will come from revenge. We can help them mourn their loss and go on with life. We can help them see the real cause of their hurt, the sin that Satan invented and promotes in people. We can show them that the best revenge is to fight the devil and his evil.
Difficult as it may be when others hurt us and treat us badly, let’s help one another keep from revenge.
Opportunity to Worship God
But, He did not take revenge. When we do not act vengeful, we are like Jesus. Being like our Lord should be enough of a reward for denying ourselves the satisfaction of getting even.
What might be some of the reasons that Jesus did not take revenge? A few come to mind that might be a way for us to think and give up vengeful thinking.
Jesus did only what the Father was doing, and that was to start building the church. Revenge would have been sin just because it would deviate from the will of God. There were astonished disciples to meet with and remove any doubt that He had risen from the dead. They needed to be absolutely sure there was life after death and a fabulous future beyond the grave, that they would have Jesus with them always “to the end of the age”, and that they had a mission to spread the good news far and wide. They needed to be bold for the rest of their lives, ready to face death if necessary. Strengthening the disciples was what God wanted done, not revenge. Revenge would have taken Jesus off course. And it will take us off course as well.
Revenge would have also been a colossal waste of time. Jesus did not waste time, either before or after His resurrection, not even for Superman-like feats. He was certainly capable of such, but there was no time to heal every illness, turn water into wine at every wedding, and right all the wrongs of the world. If there was no time to do all of those good things, there certainly was no time for something like revenge.
Revenge would have produced nothing worthwhile. The fruit of getting even would have been not only senseless, but evil. Jesus knew that the feeling of fulfillment will not come with revenge.
Revenge would have been a contradiction of Jesus’ faith. When they were crucifying Him, He had prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” To take revenge would have been completely opposite to faith’s position regarding forgiveness, the helplessness of the unredeemed to live God’s way, and the dynamics of sin.
All of these reasons are why we do not want to take revenge. Plus, it is prohibited.
So, we need each other’s help to face hurtful situations as Jesus did being murdered. We need to help one another stay on course. We have things God wants us to do. We need to help one another be so involved in the good that God created us in Christ Jesus to do, that we know we do not want to be diverted from our purpose. Many times a father has not killed the person who killed his son because he had other children to raise, which could not be done from a prison cell. That is the principle here. No matter how badly we are treated, there is still some important work of God to be continued.
If we have not spurred one another on to love and good works, we have failed God and not given those in our Christian Inner Circles reason to turn away from revenge. We need to see that everyone is committed and deeply involved in doing their part of the ministry of God for the world. Then their purpose will be too important to waste time on revenge or have the sin of revenge tarnish their godly efforts.
If anyone is considering revenge, we can also remind them that God will step in and take revenge if they let it go and let God be God. We can make sure they know revenge is prohibited and stand by them in resisting the temptation. We can remind them that others will be hurt if they go off of their assignment to spread love through their own life. We can help them see that nothing worthwhile will come from revenge. We can help them mourn their loss and go on with life. We can help them see the real cause of their hurt, the sin that Satan invented and promotes in people. We can show them that the best revenge is to fight the devil and his evil.
Difficult as it may be when others hurt us and treat us badly, let’s help one another keep from revenge.
Opportunity to Worship God
Late one night in the inner city, Harvey was robbed at gunpoint. He did not act scared because he knew paradise awaited if anything went wrong. He did not try to protect himself because he knew the Lord was fully capable of doing that. He was not worried about losing the money and his expensive watch because he knew God was rich and could replace them.
Therefore, Harvey acted friendly, complimenting the robber on his shoes and asking if he had a family to support as he emptied his wallet and handed over valuables. He even asked if the robber wanted to talk about anything. Perhaps he could offer some advice for a better life? Afterward, Harvey was not angry at the robber, but hated the sin of poverty and drug addiction that seemed to be the cause of the robber’s illegal behavior. He reported the crime calmly with as much detail as he could so that the robber could be caught and helped as well as others kept from being robbed. He did not even think about revenge, because he knew that revenge was God’s decision. But, because God’s wrath was a possibility, he urgently prayed for the robber’s salvation and forgiveness in Christ. A few of Harvey’s Christian friends understood his not being threatened and lack of anger at the robber. But, Harvey’s non-Christian friends had lots of questions and were bowled over at Harvey’s explanations. In fact, it was such a strong witness to the reality of God that two of those friends became believers, something Harvey had wanted for years. God felt worshiped because Harvey had left the decision to revenge or not to revenge, which was rightfully His, to Him. |
God has given us wisdom in our Christian relationships to keep one another from revenge. When we do so, we worship God by reflecting back to Him his exclusive right to avenge evil. We recognize Him as the only legitimate and righteous Judge and refuse to usurp His role.
Even though God has the right to judge and then take revenge, He often delays it or forgives and drops it. Therefore, whenever we forgive and let go of revenge, we are reflecting back a certain portion of God’s character. We cannot worship through reflection God’s vengeance, because that would require us to act vengeful. But we can reflect back His occasional forgiveness and decision to withhold revenge.
Some vengeance seems to be built into God’s design of the world. There are consequences from sin. Sometimes those consequences are clearly revenge in some way. When a person lies, it eventually catches up to him or her.
But, there are spiritual consequences that can be devastating, even though unseen and not consciously recognized. A Christian gossiper may be seen as completely acceptable in modern society. But, the losses in character that goes to heaven and the experiences that will be only partially sensed as a result may not be recognized this side of that gossiper’s death.
So, even though it seems that God is not taking vengeance on our behalf, He is. We just cannot see the spiritual aspects of His revenge on sin. If we can let God be the Judge, our not taking revenge will be worship.
It may be hard to understand that God may not avenge us in the way of restoring us to how we were before being hurt. Instead, He might have not intervened to stop someone hurting us for our refinement into Christlikeness. For example, God can use the hurtful situation to direct us in a different path, one He wants for us rather than the one we have chosen.
For example, two Christian men have a landscaping business together. What if God wants one of them to do landscaping and the other to be doing something else? Perhaps Jesus wants him to take a job in a large company where his outgoing personality is needed to lead people to faith. God would try to speak through the Holy Spirit to communicate that He wanted the second partner to leave the landscaping business. If that failed, God would still be trying to lead the man away from that business. However, if the other partner embezzled money from the business, stealing and betraying the one God wanted elsewhere, God could use the situation to relocate the one man to large-company, salaried employment.
God would deal with the embezzler because he belonged to God and dishonored Him, but He might not avenge the man wronged. The man wronged would likewise be expected to not take revenge, joyfully letting God redirect his life through being hurt by his friend. Instead, this man would rejoice that God allowed the pain of betrayal for something good, something that God wanted.
Let’s say that the embezzling business partner then went on to make millions of dollars. Instead of wondering why evil won out, the wronged partner with his Christian Inner Circle would hopefully see that what occurred was wrong but also a vehicle for something good in his own life. What if the man wronged led a number of people to the Lord at his company job, when in landscaping he rarely talked to anything other than the grass he was cutting? What if the company transferred him to another state where he discovered the best fishing ever?
When I, Dick Wulf, went to graduate from college after four grueling years at the University of California, Berkeley, they would not let me graduate. I had plenty of credits, but the dean who had given me permission to take 8 credits of Russian and 8 credits of Spanish instead of the required 12 credits in one foreign language did not write it down in my folder. So, I had to continue working my way through college for another semester and enroll in a third semester of Spanish after not studying it for two years. (I should explain that I made the arrangement to avoid the third semester where you had to use the language more. I would freeze up and, therefore, wanted to avoid having to speak.)
The university had wronged me and inflicted considerable stress, not to speak of having to work and earn the money for the extra semester. There was nothing I could do. No way for me to solve the problem. No revenge possible.
But, guess what? In that fearful Spanish III class, there was this beautiful young woman, three years younger, who became my wife. We have enjoyed 51 years together and she was just what I needed and God wanted for me.
Would I want God to avenge my mistreatment at the University of California at Berkeley. No way! Did I want revenge back then? Actually, young Christian that I was, somehow I worshiped God by letting Him deal with the university. It helped that there was no way to inflict revenge!
Let’s help one another resist revenge on those few occasions when one of us is so tempted. Let’s allow God the privilege of vengeance and worship Him in this way.
How Used in Battle to Defeat Evil and Satan
Even though God has the right to judge and then take revenge, He often delays it or forgives and drops it. Therefore, whenever we forgive and let go of revenge, we are reflecting back a certain portion of God’s character. We cannot worship through reflection God’s vengeance, because that would require us to act vengeful. But we can reflect back His occasional forgiveness and decision to withhold revenge.
Some vengeance seems to be built into God’s design of the world. There are consequences from sin. Sometimes those consequences are clearly revenge in some way. When a person lies, it eventually catches up to him or her.
But, there are spiritual consequences that can be devastating, even though unseen and not consciously recognized. A Christian gossiper may be seen as completely acceptable in modern society. But, the losses in character that goes to heaven and the experiences that will be only partially sensed as a result may not be recognized this side of that gossiper’s death.
So, even though it seems that God is not taking vengeance on our behalf, He is. We just cannot see the spiritual aspects of His revenge on sin. If we can let God be the Judge, our not taking revenge will be worship.
It may be hard to understand that God may not avenge us in the way of restoring us to how we were before being hurt. Instead, He might have not intervened to stop someone hurting us for our refinement into Christlikeness. For example, God can use the hurtful situation to direct us in a different path, one He wants for us rather than the one we have chosen.
For example, two Christian men have a landscaping business together. What if God wants one of them to do landscaping and the other to be doing something else? Perhaps Jesus wants him to take a job in a large company where his outgoing personality is needed to lead people to faith. God would try to speak through the Holy Spirit to communicate that He wanted the second partner to leave the landscaping business. If that failed, God would still be trying to lead the man away from that business. However, if the other partner embezzled money from the business, stealing and betraying the one God wanted elsewhere, God could use the situation to relocate the one man to large-company, salaried employment.
God would deal with the embezzler because he belonged to God and dishonored Him, but He might not avenge the man wronged. The man wronged would likewise be expected to not take revenge, joyfully letting God redirect his life through being hurt by his friend. Instead, this man would rejoice that God allowed the pain of betrayal for something good, something that God wanted.
Let’s say that the embezzling business partner then went on to make millions of dollars. Instead of wondering why evil won out, the wronged partner with his Christian Inner Circle would hopefully see that what occurred was wrong but also a vehicle for something good in his own life. What if the man wronged led a number of people to the Lord at his company job, when in landscaping he rarely talked to anything other than the grass he was cutting? What if the company transferred him to another state where he discovered the best fishing ever?
When I, Dick Wulf, went to graduate from college after four grueling years at the University of California, Berkeley, they would not let me graduate. I had plenty of credits, but the dean who had given me permission to take 8 credits of Russian and 8 credits of Spanish instead of the required 12 credits in one foreign language did not write it down in my folder. So, I had to continue working my way through college for another semester and enroll in a third semester of Spanish after not studying it for two years. (I should explain that I made the arrangement to avoid the third semester where you had to use the language more. I would freeze up and, therefore, wanted to avoid having to speak.)
The university had wronged me and inflicted considerable stress, not to speak of having to work and earn the money for the extra semester. There was nothing I could do. No way for me to solve the problem. No revenge possible.
But, guess what? In that fearful Spanish III class, there was this beautiful young woman, three years younger, who became my wife. We have enjoyed 51 years together and she was just what I needed and God wanted for me.
Would I want God to avenge my mistreatment at the University of California at Berkeley. No way! Did I want revenge back then? Actually, young Christian that I was, somehow I worshiped God by letting Him deal with the university. It helped that there was no way to inflict revenge!
Let’s help one another resist revenge on those few occasions when one of us is so tempted. Let’s allow God the privilege of vengeance and worship Him in this way.
How Used in Battle to Defeat Evil and Satan
Alexis and Sebastian have been married 40 years and been regular church goers. They have attended eight churches during that time, being regular in attendance and occasionally participating in small group Bible studies. Mainly, they like the music worship services. They have heard over 1800 sermons. Unfortunately, none of the eight churches took responsibility for how their members were living their faith. As long as they came, helped the church with its finances, and listened to sermons largely about doctrine, the pastors and church leaders felt that they were doing their jobs.
However, Alexis has kicked Sebastian out of the house twice to retaliate for not paying much attention to their relationship. He spends most of his time at his job and in the garage working on restoring old cars. He does not do much around the house and yard. Alexis also works a full-time job and lives with resentment. Lately, Alexis took a different job and made two new friends who went to a church that actually taught that Christians had responsibility for one another’s behavior. Thus, they knew to guard God’s honor and at the same time help one another let Jesus and the Holy Spirit guide them in godliness. These two soon saw the destructive vengeful pattern Alexis and her husband were trapped in. They realized that Sebastian and Alexis’s current church was not aware nor wanting to do more than give sermons and hope that somehow knowledge would translate into spiritual change without hands-on help. These women prayed that God would help Alexis and Sebastian, especially since Alexis has begun talking openly about getting even with Sebastian and running up credit card debt. In response, God told these two friends that they were the answer to their own prayer. He seemed to convict them that it was they who needed to help Alexis. Because their church taught and expected church members to live consistent with Bible teaching, not just know about it, these two women were familiar with Bible verses that spoke strongly against revenge. They asked if they could meet with Alexis in her home to confront Alexis that her faith needed to be taken more seriously. In the meeting they lovingly pointed out how Satan was working to disgrace God through her vengeance against her husband. They asked if they could help Alexis deal with her neglectful husband with firm love rather than revenge. Alexis broke down with tears and they helped her confess to God and ask His forgiveness. Then they began meeting to find a solution. Eventually they met with Sebastian and found that he, too, was angry and secretly punishing Alexis for overspending by not even telling her when he left the house or where he was going. As of this writing, a long corrective process is well under way and the devil’s plans to destroy Alexis and Sebastian’s marriage and disgrace God is dealing heavy blows to the devil’s pride. |
Satan loves revenge. Revenge can begin a cycle of back and forth nastiness. The pit down which people seeking revenge fall is so destructive that, whenever it occurs, Satan must watch it with much glee. Revenge has great power to dishonor God and, thus, fits perfectly into the devil’s warfare with our Lord.
We defeat Satan by helping one another turn away from revenge. We fight with the devil by not letting the flesh (the remnant of our old selves), the world (the culture in which we live), or the devil (dark spiritual forces under Satan’s command) convince us that revenge is natural and acceptable.
Unless we isolate ourselves from critical social opportunities to serve the Lord, we will face evil. There is no getting around being mistreated. So, if it is going to happen from time to time anyway, why get so upset when it does? Can’t we just expect it as the consequence of war? If so, we can make one strong lifetime decision to not handle mistreatment with revenge.
But, we must also make the decision to not only reject revenge, but also to fight evil with good.
We defeat Satan by helping one another turn away from revenge. We fight with the devil by not letting the flesh (the remnant of our old selves), the world (the culture in which we live), or the devil (dark spiritual forces under Satan’s command) convince us that revenge is natural and acceptable.
Unless we isolate ourselves from critical social opportunities to serve the Lord, we will face evil. There is no getting around being mistreated. So, if it is going to happen from time to time anyway, why get so upset when it does? Can’t we just expect it as the consequence of war? If so, we can make one strong lifetime decision to not handle mistreatment with revenge.
But, we must also make the decision to not only reject revenge, but also to fight evil with good.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. |
Matt 5:38-48
The loving response to evil is often solving the problem that led to the offense. Much of the evil coming from outside the church requires prayerful problem-solving to identify the loving response. This most likely takes the minds of at least a few Christians working together to first resist revenge and then explore whether anything loving can be done.
We can see from the comments of Jesus about returning good for evil that the kingdom of God fights a completely different way. Love is our weapon, but so also is prayer against the unseen spiritual powers of evil.
We can see from the comments of Jesus about returning good for evil that the kingdom of God fights a completely different way. Love is our weapon, but so also is prayer against the unseen spiritual powers of evil.
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
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2 Cor 10:3-4
It is impossible to fight demons with evil, for the moment we do so we play right into their hands and are not fighting them but joining with them. Love for God and the people hurt can express itself in prayer against evil forces the Bible says are operative, even though we cannot see them or prove their existence.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
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Eph 6:12
If we take time to think about what is in the Bible about evil spiritual forces, powers without visible bodies but not just evil ideologies, we will be hard pressed to see those hurting us and others as working alone. Those evil powers behind the sinfulness in our culture as well as behind the offender’s behavior are also responsible for the hurt. And, they want us to take revenge. Why, then, would we want to go along with their sinister plots?
Hurts need loving solutions more than revenge. That is the battle response to evil that we want. We are on the Lord’s side, and we sure don’t want to cooperate with evil powers by vengeance!
For example, rejection from our culture for holding biblical beliefs can be solved by deep, meaningful, and joyful relationships with other Christians. Who, then, cares so much that outsiders don’t like us? We can be so immune to being criticized and discounted, even persecuted, that we are free to love. Outsiders can be nasty to us, and it might be good to willingly grant them that privilege (but not provoke it). But we must respond without similar nastiness, which would be vengeful. Knowing the grip that sin has on them, even if they deny it, can make it easier to resist revenge and react with kindness when they hurt us.
When evil does not lend itself to problem-solving, we can just stick by one another through the pain and suffering. In this case, we cannot trade off revenge for problem-solving. But we can apply some application of our faith. Terminal cancer is an evil that has no solution, but our faith has a way of dealing with it, especially our certainty of heaven as both our most-desired destination and also relief from our pain.
When we each become impervious to the temptation to take revenge, we slap the devil a mighty blow. He may try to tell us that we are weak not to use power in some form to avenge ourselves. But, we must help one another be convinced that strength of character is superior to strength of power.
Whenever hurt occurs within Christian relationships, it is imperative that the problem be solved. We should not even consider revenge. Our conviction should be the same as that of David when he was hunted by King Saul. He could have killed the King for all the suffering he had caused David.
Hurts need loving solutions more than revenge. That is the battle response to evil that we want. We are on the Lord’s side, and we sure don’t want to cooperate with evil powers by vengeance!
For example, rejection from our culture for holding biblical beliefs can be solved by deep, meaningful, and joyful relationships with other Christians. Who, then, cares so much that outsiders don’t like us? We can be so immune to being criticized and discounted, even persecuted, that we are free to love. Outsiders can be nasty to us, and it might be good to willingly grant them that privilege (but not provoke it). But we must respond without similar nastiness, which would be vengeful. Knowing the grip that sin has on them, even if they deny it, can make it easier to resist revenge and react with kindness when they hurt us.
When evil does not lend itself to problem-solving, we can just stick by one another through the pain and suffering. In this case, we cannot trade off revenge for problem-solving. But we can apply some application of our faith. Terminal cancer is an evil that has no solution, but our faith has a way of dealing with it, especially our certainty of heaven as both our most-desired destination and also relief from our pain.
When we each become impervious to the temptation to take revenge, we slap the devil a mighty blow. He may try to tell us that we are weak not to use power in some form to avenge ourselves. But, we must help one another be convinced that strength of character is superior to strength of power.
Whenever hurt occurs within Christian relationships, it is imperative that the problem be solved. We should not even consider revenge. Our conviction should be the same as that of David when he was hunted by King Saul. He could have killed the King for all the suffering he had caused David.
May the Lord judge between you and me. And may the Lord avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you.
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1 Sam 24:12
Let’s rise up to the call to battle and reject the evil weapon of revenge. Let’s take great joy in fighting with much more powerful love instead.
How in the Sinful Environment this Together Prepares Us for Heaven
How in the Sinful Environment this Together Prepares Us for Heaven
Luis and Amelia married out of very hurtful families. Parents and siblings say hurtful things, leave them out of important events, even take advantage of their generosity. They are constantly licking their wounds.
However, Luis and Amelia have consciously avoided revenge and responding hurtfully. (They are even ridiculed for that!) They are very tuned in to their faith in Jesus and quite sure all the pain will stop once they get to heaven. In fact, they are preparing for heaven by letting God decide about the negative consequences for their hurtful families. They continue to shower their parents and siblings with undeserved favor. They know that they are practicing blessing people, aware that the Bible questions the benefit of blessing only those who bless you. They want to go to heaven and find great joy in being so practiced in blessing others. |
In heaven there will be no need for revenge. But, turning aside from revenge now when it is sometimes tempting will have many benefits.
There is heavenly benefit in letting God have His rightful monopoly on vengeance, because in doing so we accept God for Who He is and who we are not. He is the judge, we are not. While in heaven everyone will let God be God because of the absence of sin, some of us will enjoy Who He is more because we honored Him as the judge and left revenge for Him.
Imagine that we planned a family reunion and asked our grandmother to bring her special potato salad, knowing full well that we all had learned to make it out of healthier ingredients. But, we wanted her to have the honor as the matriarch. We who consciously held back our offer to make potato salad and wanted her to have the glory of the task would more fully enjoy grandmother and her joy at the family reunion banquet. We would be more able to praise her without reserve. This is how it will be for those who held back from revenge to allow God to have the exclusive right to decide to judge and take vengeance or not. We will praise Him without hesitation.
But, the daughters and granddaughters who were disappointed they did not get to make the potato salad would not pay attention to grandmother’s joy at the reunion. They would not recognize that they were missing out on something special. They would be like those who did not take revenge, but only because it was a rule rather than stepping aside for God’s joy. During life before death they would have missed some of the enjoyment of God that would have come through letting Him handle things that were only His to deal with. In heaven they will be somewhat less able to enjoy those aspects of God that are uniquely His.
Then there is the benefit in heaven of joy in blessing others. Returning evil with blessing rather than revenge will increase our ability to bless others in heaven. Everyone will be able to bless, but some will naturally do and enjoy it more.
Also, the difficulty now of not taking revenge will give our spirits more strength in doing difficult tasks in heaven. It will qualify us for heavenly tasks that can only go to those strongest in facing and conquering tough assignments.
Resisting temptation to take revenge can be powered by staying focused only on what God wants us to be doing. Those who take this step in their resistance to revenge will be more likely to notice what God is doing around them in heaven. There will be no problem staying on task in heaven, as there will be no sin and evil there. However, it will be nice to be able to focus more exclusively on God because we are more practiced in doing so when we get to heaven.
We can help one another resist revenge and gain all of these valuable abilities in our spirits for our eternal life in heaven.
How this Together Can Make It Really Good in Heaven
There is heavenly benefit in letting God have His rightful monopoly on vengeance, because in doing so we accept God for Who He is and who we are not. He is the judge, we are not. While in heaven everyone will let God be God because of the absence of sin, some of us will enjoy Who He is more because we honored Him as the judge and left revenge for Him.
Imagine that we planned a family reunion and asked our grandmother to bring her special potato salad, knowing full well that we all had learned to make it out of healthier ingredients. But, we wanted her to have the honor as the matriarch. We who consciously held back our offer to make potato salad and wanted her to have the glory of the task would more fully enjoy grandmother and her joy at the family reunion banquet. We would be more able to praise her without reserve. This is how it will be for those who held back from revenge to allow God to have the exclusive right to decide to judge and take vengeance or not. We will praise Him without hesitation.
But, the daughters and granddaughters who were disappointed they did not get to make the potato salad would not pay attention to grandmother’s joy at the reunion. They would not recognize that they were missing out on something special. They would be like those who did not take revenge, but only because it was a rule rather than stepping aside for God’s joy. During life before death they would have missed some of the enjoyment of God that would have come through letting Him handle things that were only His to deal with. In heaven they will be somewhat less able to enjoy those aspects of God that are uniquely His.
Then there is the benefit in heaven of joy in blessing others. Returning evil with blessing rather than revenge will increase our ability to bless others in heaven. Everyone will be able to bless, but some will naturally do and enjoy it more.
Also, the difficulty now of not taking revenge will give our spirits more strength in doing difficult tasks in heaven. It will qualify us for heavenly tasks that can only go to those strongest in facing and conquering tough assignments.
Resisting temptation to take revenge can be powered by staying focused only on what God wants us to be doing. Those who take this step in their resistance to revenge will be more likely to notice what God is doing around them in heaven. There will be no problem staying on task in heaven, as there will be no sin and evil there. However, it will be nice to be able to focus more exclusively on God because we are more practiced in doing so when we get to heaven.
We can help one another resist revenge and gain all of these valuable abilities in our spirits for our eternal life in heaven.
How this Together Can Make It Really Good in Heaven
It is amazing that some of us can see an opportunity to bless other citizens of heaven a bit sooner than others. It doesn’t make us feel superior to others, but we would not want to slow down in our responses to do something good. And, after all, there is so much good to be done in heaven that all citizens get the wonderful chance to share goodness with others. We just get to do in a day a few more things that bless others because we are a bit more ready to do so.
We asked Jesus one day why we were a bit more responsive. He replied that we had grown more focused on working with God to bless others by not ever contemplating revenge. |
It will really be great to be aware that we are honoring God by letting Him be Himself and not desiring His privileges like Satan did in heaven when his name was Lucifer . The devil rebelled and wanted God’s place of honor. In not wanting revenge because we want God to have His right of the choice to revenge or not, we will have prepared ourselves for whatever joy there will be in heaven in rejoicing that God has rights that we do not have. Even now we praise Him for being all-knowing. In heaven we will continue to learn, but be able to have great pleasure in letting God have omniscience all to Himself.
Here on earth in the midst of a sinful culture our spirits will develop the ability to find joy in blessing others. Other Togethers will help us grow, but none of them will have us blessing others with such difficulty as blessing instead of revenging. So, to keep one another from revenge will cap off our ability to bless others in heaven with extra strength because it was developed by the very difficult accomplishment of not taking revenge.
In heaven we will not be returning blessing for harm because there will be no pain in heaven, no betrayal or any other such hurtful sin. However, we will carry to heaven the strength to bless others in most difficult ways because trading revenge for blessing will have been a strenuous test. Think of it this way. To bless another in heaven by showing the intricate beauty of a flower should be easy and most likely anybody will be able to do it. But, blessing another by showing them how to travel between the stars will be much more difficult and not everyone will have prepared to be able to bless in those tougher opportunities. Those who were seriously offended and grit their teeth to not take revenge will find such an interstellar task rather easy. Tough blessing under the fire of the temptation to take vengeance now will lead to the ability to offer blessing in this life before death in more difficult situations as well as in heaven for more difficult experiences.
As another example, it will be difficult to teach one of heaven’s citizens who basically ignored God other than to accept salvation. Having seldom fought through temptations to say, “No!” to revenge, such a person will have trouble understanding some of lessons of spiritual growth in heaven. For example, understanding God’s sovereignty in heaven after paying no attention to it before death may be hard for some. They will need to be blessed with patient teaching by someone with superior strength in blessing, someone who blessed those who hurt them badly.
Any time wasted considering revenge will be time when the mind was not at peace and, therefore, unable to see God’s wonders all around. So, along with other Togethers, the mind that is peaceful because of the absence of vengeful thoughts will have increased “practice time” of looking around with wonder. How wonderful will heaven be? Well, that depends on how much and how often we possessed peace of mind before death.
We will have an increased awareness of what God wants us to be doing each day in heaven if we fought off revenge by remembering what we were supposed to be doing for God. It takes strong self-denial for God’s sake to ward off vengeful thoughts and actions. That will yield greater ability to just be aware of God and His direction.
Then there will be the ability to joyfully greet people in heaven who hurt us deeply back on earth before we died. Running into the old business partner who betrayed and embezzled, our mind would not have to shut off if we let go of revenge and had a heart ready to bless back in the sin-surrounded life. Since there is no sin in heaven, whenever we lack the spiritual quality necessary for a deeper righteous response, our minds will have to go blank because we will be unable to sin. We won’t be able to do right and we won’t be able to do wrong, so we will likely have to be in a spiritual “time out”, some sort of daze. While we won’t be miserable running into someone for whom we never escaped vengeful desires, we won’t be able to enjoy it either.
It will be so much better in heaven if now we resist and keep one another from revenge.
Opportunity for a Closer Relationship with God through Empathy
Here on earth in the midst of a sinful culture our spirits will develop the ability to find joy in blessing others. Other Togethers will help us grow, but none of them will have us blessing others with such difficulty as blessing instead of revenging. So, to keep one another from revenge will cap off our ability to bless others in heaven with extra strength because it was developed by the very difficult accomplishment of not taking revenge.
In heaven we will not be returning blessing for harm because there will be no pain in heaven, no betrayal or any other such hurtful sin. However, we will carry to heaven the strength to bless others in most difficult ways because trading revenge for blessing will have been a strenuous test. Think of it this way. To bless another in heaven by showing the intricate beauty of a flower should be easy and most likely anybody will be able to do it. But, blessing another by showing them how to travel between the stars will be much more difficult and not everyone will have prepared to be able to bless in those tougher opportunities. Those who were seriously offended and grit their teeth to not take revenge will find such an interstellar task rather easy. Tough blessing under the fire of the temptation to take vengeance now will lead to the ability to offer blessing in this life before death in more difficult situations as well as in heaven for more difficult experiences.
As another example, it will be difficult to teach one of heaven’s citizens who basically ignored God other than to accept salvation. Having seldom fought through temptations to say, “No!” to revenge, such a person will have trouble understanding some of lessons of spiritual growth in heaven. For example, understanding God’s sovereignty in heaven after paying no attention to it before death may be hard for some. They will need to be blessed with patient teaching by someone with superior strength in blessing, someone who blessed those who hurt them badly.
Any time wasted considering revenge will be time when the mind was not at peace and, therefore, unable to see God’s wonders all around. So, along with other Togethers, the mind that is peaceful because of the absence of vengeful thoughts will have increased “practice time” of looking around with wonder. How wonderful will heaven be? Well, that depends on how much and how often we possessed peace of mind before death.
We will have an increased awareness of what God wants us to be doing each day in heaven if we fought off revenge by remembering what we were supposed to be doing for God. It takes strong self-denial for God’s sake to ward off vengeful thoughts and actions. That will yield greater ability to just be aware of God and His direction.
Then there will be the ability to joyfully greet people in heaven who hurt us deeply back on earth before we died. Running into the old business partner who betrayed and embezzled, our mind would not have to shut off if we let go of revenge and had a heart ready to bless back in the sin-surrounded life. Since there is no sin in heaven, whenever we lack the spiritual quality necessary for a deeper righteous response, our minds will have to go blank because we will be unable to sin. We won’t be able to do right and we won’t be able to do wrong, so we will likely have to be in a spiritual “time out”, some sort of daze. While we won’t be miserable running into someone for whom we never escaped vengeful desires, we won’t be able to enjoy it either.
It will be so much better in heaven if now we resist and keep one another from revenge.
Opportunity for a Closer Relationship with God through Empathy
Four of us were summoned by an angel this morning. We are now being led somewhere in one of the remote forests of heaven. We round a bend and there sitting on a huge boulder is Jesus.
He says to us, “Come. I have a new wonder to show you! You were chosen for this private presentation because of your level of wonder before death even though you could have gotten sidetracked on resentments. All four of you were hurt continually and taken advantage of because you were such kind and generous people. Yet you all stayed focused, not on your hurt and not on vengeance, but on all the wonderful things God was doing all around you. So, I know that you four will really appreciate this new wonder I have created. Want to guess what I am about to show you?” |
God’s response to us will take into account how we dealt with the temptation to take revenge and if we kept those in our Christian Inner Circles from revenge. Just how will He relate to us differently if we were obedient and left revenge to Him? God will appreciate us letting Him be the judge and trusting Him to deal with the hurt aimed at us before escaping to heaven.
Think of how we feel toward anyone who usurps our role or privilege. Suppose it is your assigned job at work to check the availability of water for the water cooler and order when it gets low. Now someone tells you that they went ahead and ordered more water. Unless you were overloaded with extra responsibilities or ill, you would most likely not appreciate their intrusion into something that is your responsibility and makes you feel valuable.
Well, God does not need anything from us for Him to feel valuable. And He never gets sick or overwhelmed with His responsibilities. However, He most likely does not appreciate it when we take over responsibilities that are wholly His and He has not delegated to us. Revenge falls right in there with judging as His exclusive rights. So, it just seems obvious that God in Heaven (as well as right now, too) will not be as close in relationship to those who usurp His restrictive jurisdictions. He will definitely appreciate those of us who do not take revenge.
The Lord will also appreciate us when we go further than avoiding revenge and go on to bless. Again we want to remember the biblical promise
Think of how we feel toward anyone who usurps our role or privilege. Suppose it is your assigned job at work to check the availability of water for the water cooler and order when it gets low. Now someone tells you that they went ahead and ordered more water. Unless you were overloaded with extra responsibilities or ill, you would most likely not appreciate their intrusion into something that is your responsibility and makes you feel valuable.
Well, God does not need anything from us for Him to feel valuable. And He never gets sick or overwhelmed with His responsibilities. However, He most likely does not appreciate it when we take over responsibilities that are wholly His and He has not delegated to us. Revenge falls right in there with judging as His exclusive rights. So, it just seems obvious that God in Heaven (as well as right now, too) will not be as close in relationship to those who usurp His restrictive jurisdictions. He will definitely appreciate those of us who do not take revenge.
The Lord will also appreciate us when we go further than avoiding revenge and go on to bless. Again we want to remember the biblical promise
Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult.
On the contrary, repay evil with blessing,
because to this you were called
so that you may inherit a blessing.
1 Peter 3:9
On the contrary, repay evil with blessing,
because to this you were called
so that you may inherit a blessing.
1 Peter 3:9
We can guess at some of the possible blessings in our inheritance if we do not repay evil with revenge. One that sticks out is how much more wonderful heaven will seem to those of us who had a little more time to practice seeing God’s goodness in life because we did not spend any time thinking of revenge or moaning and groaning like victims.
The measure of how wonderful heaven will be for all of us is how many practice hours we logged noticing wonders in the midst of sin, nastiness, and all the other ways Satan ruins God’s creation and the relationships among His people. It will take sharper skills in this life to see God’s wonders and avoid being a “glass half full” person. Those sharper skills will go to heaven with us and make it possible to see more wonders than if we were distracted by vengeful thinking, being irritated with people and not implementing the Together to bear with one another, or ignored the other Togethers that keep our eyes from being clouded from seeing God’s wonders.
Doesn’t it also follow that Jesus might show more new wonders in heaven to those who have the skill and desire to see them?
Praise and Prayer Regarding this Together
O God Who Avenges, I and those in my Christian Inner Circle will need Your help to grow our spirits to love those who hurt us and those we love - and leave vengeance to You. Help us to yield to the work of the Holy Spirit for all of us to give You more glory in the way we keep one another from revenge.
Please help us all to become more like Jesus who could have taken revenge when He walked toward the cross, and even after it, but did not. Let us be like Jesus and keep on the assignment to love, leaving revenge to You.
May our lives worship You more because we do not usurp Your role as Judge and Avenger. Help us to know of anyone in our Christian Inner Circles who might be entertaining thoughts of revenge and urge them to let You avenge them. Help us to help them grasp the peace that comes from letting go of revenge.
Make us strong in Your power to defeat the devil by keeping one another from revenge and avoiding the nastiness he wants us to continue. Help us to not believe the lie of Satan that revenge is natural and acceptable. Let us return evil with good, hatred with love – the devil hates that!
May our difficult obedience to let go of vengeful thoughts qualify us in heaven for more difficult tasks. Help us all to prepare for heaven by keeping one another from revenge and letting You be the Judge and Avenger. We hope that will open up an additional degree of closeness with You for all eternity. Also, may the difficulty of not taking revenge increase our dedication to You and staying focused on what You want. In heaven, it will be all about what You want.
The measure of how wonderful heaven will be for all of us is how many practice hours we logged noticing wonders in the midst of sin, nastiness, and all the other ways Satan ruins God’s creation and the relationships among His people. It will take sharper skills in this life to see God’s wonders and avoid being a “glass half full” person. Those sharper skills will go to heaven with us and make it possible to see more wonders than if we were distracted by vengeful thinking, being irritated with people and not implementing the Together to bear with one another, or ignored the other Togethers that keep our eyes from being clouded from seeing God’s wonders.
Doesn’t it also follow that Jesus might show more new wonders in heaven to those who have the skill and desire to see them?
Praise and Prayer Regarding this Together
O God Who Avenges, I and those in my Christian Inner Circle will need Your help to grow our spirits to love those who hurt us and those we love - and leave vengeance to You. Help us to yield to the work of the Holy Spirit for all of us to give You more glory in the way we keep one another from revenge.
Please help us all to become more like Jesus who could have taken revenge when He walked toward the cross, and even after it, but did not. Let us be like Jesus and keep on the assignment to love, leaving revenge to You.
May our lives worship You more because we do not usurp Your role as Judge and Avenger. Help us to know of anyone in our Christian Inner Circles who might be entertaining thoughts of revenge and urge them to let You avenge them. Help us to help them grasp the peace that comes from letting go of revenge.
Make us strong in Your power to defeat the devil by keeping one another from revenge and avoiding the nastiness he wants us to continue. Help us to not believe the lie of Satan that revenge is natural and acceptable. Let us return evil with good, hatred with love – the devil hates that!
May our difficult obedience to let go of vengeful thoughts qualify us in heaven for more difficult tasks. Help us all to prepare for heaven by keeping one another from revenge and letting You be the Judge and Avenger. We hope that will open up an additional degree of closeness with You for all eternity. Also, may the difficulty of not taking revenge increase our dedication to You and staying focused on what You want. In heaven, it will be all about what You want.
Ever increasing practice of the Togethers of Scripture will (1) create in you the loving essence of Jesus, (2) give Jesus the kind of love He requested, (3) provide you with the most significant spiritual lifestyle which is attainable only through Christian community, (4) offer significant worship to God by reflecting his own character back to him through your behavior, and (5) bring God’s kingdom to earth as asked for in the Lord’s Prayer. And for heaven, such growing obedience to Scripture now will later (6) qualify you for a more responsible place of service as reward in heaven, and, (7) most important of all, give you greater empathy with God for a closer relationship with Him for all of eternity.