God's Word to the Wise

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Romans 12:19–20

Notice that God’s word calls us not merely not to react in vengefulness but to be proactive in blessing. When we manage not to retaliate, we have not yet fully obeyed. As disciples of Jesus, we’re not only to refrain from doing our enemies evil; we’re actually to do them good. It is easy to convince ourselves that ignoring our foes will take care of the problem or is the most we can realistically be expected to do; but here we discover that we’re actually supposed to show them hospitality! Our role is to respond to wrongdoing with a spirit of generosity, trusting that God will always judge justly and therefore we do not need to judge, and indeed must not do so (1 Peter 2:23).

BY GOD’S GRACE, I practice this, and yet my favorite movie genre is the shoot ’em up revenge movies. Even at my best I’m not good enough. Praise God for His unmerited favor, GRACE!