Repay?

Romans 12:17-21

“Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 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.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

This is one of those passages of scripture that many like to read quickly and move on.  After all, look at the list of what God tells us to do... 

Repay evil with good...

Do what’s honorable when the other person hasn’t been honorable...

Live peaceably with others when they don’t deserve it...

Don’t seek revenge...

Be kind to our enemies...

How?  Why?  Doesn’t seem fair does it.   The world screams to get even... and God says don’t.  Our friends tell us to make them pay... and God says “Trust Me, I’ll take care of it.”  Why would anyone follow these directives?  Why would anybody treat people better than they were treated?  Why would someone give up their right to settle things their own way?

Simple.  Because that’s what Christ did.  Sinless Christ.  The King of Kings.  All man... all God... perfect and unblemished.  He climbed up and let His own creation nail Him to a cross... pierce His side with a spear... put a crown of ragged thorns on His head… And as people mocked and spit at Him.... He was forgiving those doing it before the saliva could even dry.  So much injustice... so much undeserved hatred toward the Son of God...

Met with so much love.  Jesus chose to show compassion and forgive.  Why should we waive our right at revenge?  Because Christ did.

I can imagine your thoughts as you read this....  Pastor, you don’t know what they did.  If I treat them this way...they win, don’t they?  If I turn the other cheek...they’ll just hit me on that one too....Jesus didn’t say it would be easy...  But real growth...real faith... real and long lasting change never is.  Resist the urge to dismiss these verses as impossible.  Don’t give in to the enemy telling you that this doesn’t apply...  doing the Godly thing is rarely popular or easy...

However, it is obedient.  It is blessable.  And it is always the right choice... 

Seat At The Table

“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”  Romans 3:23

I read of a small boy who had been consistently late for dinner. One particular day his parents had warned him to be on time, but he arrived later than ever. He found his parents already seated at the table, about to start eating. Quickly he sat at his place, and then noticed what was set before him--a slice of bread and a glass of water. There was silence as he sat staring at his plate, crushed. 

Sometimes we make mistakes.  Sometimes we repeat the same mistakes.  Again and again and yet again.  Our plate sits in front of us... and we feel far more than hunger pains….regret.  sorrow.  guilt.  shame.  sadness.   We hurt.  

We stare at disappointment and realize that we caused it... We sinned... we did the wrong thing.  Will we hurt forever?  Will they ever forgive?  Will God ever see us the same way?  Am I broken?  Unloved?   If only we had one more chance...one last conversation...one opportunity to wind the clock back and make things right.

This young boy’s story wasn’t over...

Suddenly he saw his father’s hand reach over, pick up his plate and set it before himself. Then his dad put his own full plate in front of his son, smiling warmly as he made the exchange. When the boy became a man, he said, "All my life I’ve known what God was like by what my father did that night.

What is God like?

Sacrificial and unconditionally loving.

Full of grace...not condemning judgment

Full of hope...not unending despair 

Full of forgiveness...not relentless blame

God reaches across the table and replaces what we deserve with what we haven’t earned.   As Christ-followers, when we ask for forgiveness, He takes our bread and water... our sin... our punishment... our condemnation... our mistakes... and allows us yet another chance. 

Grace from a loving Father.

Love from a graceful God. 

Feeling discouraged by past failure?   Afraid to show your face around God’s table?

Don’t be.  

There will always be a chair waiting... plenty of food... and a warm embrace from the One who knew that you would sin and created you anyway.   

The Right Choice

At the end of the Civil War, President Lincoln was asked how he was going to treat Southerners when they returned to the Union. The questioner expected that Lincoln would be bitter... vengeful... certainly he would make them earn their way back in... His answer... "I will treat them as if they had never been away."

An unusual response.  After all, the Southerners that had seceded from the Union had killed thousands of northern soldiers... destroyed property... and seemed to support everything the North had fought to change.  Why wouldn’t Lincoln make them pay?  Why didn’t the president seek to even the score... make them come crawling back... cause them to suffer for what they had done?  History wouldn’t have blamed him, right?

Why didn’t Lincoln do these things?  Because he understood the truth as told in Romans 12:17-21

“Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 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.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

This is one of those passages of scripture that many like to read quickly and move on.  After all, look at the list of what God tells us to do... 

Repay evil with good...

Do what’s honorable when the other person hasn’t been honorable...

Live peaceably with others when they don’t deserve it...

Don’t seek revenge...

Be kind to our enemies...

How?  Why?  Doesn’t seem fair does it.   The world screams to get even... and God says don’t.  Our friends tell us to make them pay... and God says “Trust Me, I’ll take care of it.”  Why would anyone follow these directives?  Why would anybody treat people better than they were treated?  Why would someone give up their right to settle things their own way?

Simple.  Because that’s what Christ did.  Sinless Christ.  The King of Kings.  All man... all God... perfect and unblemished.  He climbed up and let His own creation nail Him to a cross... pierce His side with a spear... put a crown of ragged thorns on His head… And as people mocked and spit at Him.... He was forgiving those doing it before the saliva could even dry.  So much injustice... so much undeserved hatred toward the Son of God...

Met with so much love.  Jesus chose to show compassion and forgive.  Why should we waive our right at revenge?  Because Christ did.

I can imagine your thoughts as you read this....  Pastor, you don’t know what they did.  If I treat them this way...they win, don’t they?  If I turn the other cheek...they’ll just hit me on that one too....Jesus didn’t say it would be easy...  But real growth...real faith... real and long lasting change never is.  Resist the urge to dismiss these verses as impossible.  Don’t give in to the enemy telling you that this doesn’t apply...  doing the Godly thing is rarely popular or easy...

However, it is obedient.  It is blessable.  And it is always the right choice...  

Agitator

Have you ever looked inside your washing machine and wondered how it gets clothes so clean?  You might be surprised to know that it isn’t just the soap… or the hot water… it’s that column in the middle that usually has plastic fins that rotate all the way around.  It’s called an agitator… and without one, your clothes would smell better but they wouldn’t be clean.  During the wash cycle, this agitator forces the clothes to move around… from the bottom to the top of the water and back down… preventing laundry from just floating on the surface.  This constant movement allows the soap and water to fully saturate the materials and clean the clothes. 

Agitators in a washing machine make it work to it’s fullest potential.  They do the same thing in our lives as well.  Our agitators take many forms… those that bother us, those that are jealous of us, those that disagree with our decisions, or those that just plain rub us the wrong way.  They agitate, irritate, instigate, and infuriate us to the point that we wonder why God allows them into our day-to-day.  He does it because in dealing with them… we grow.  James 1:3 tells us that testing produces endurance.   Loving those that frustrate us builds character.  Caring for those that don’t care for us allows us to be more like Christ.  Anyone can be friendly to the friendly… but it’s when we extend grace to the agitators of life that we truly exhibit the character of the One who wants to see us grow through the process.

Easy to Dismiss

In the Bible, we frequently read of people contracting leprosy.  This flesh eating bacterial disease caused scarring, disfiguration, and sometimes death by those who suffered from it.  Good thing we don’t have to worry about that anymore...right?  Actually, the truth might surprise you.  Leprosy is still a big problem in many parts of the world.  In fact, in 2011, there were 200,000 new cases of the terrible disease.  

It’s easy to dismiss leprosy as outdated and ancient... even though it isn’t.  Trouble is... some think of sin the same way.  Like it’s some old Biblical idea that doesn’t apply in our lives anymore.  Unfortunately, sin...or missing the mark... is very much a part of today’s world.  Scripture tells us that if we leave sin un-dealt with in our life...scarring happens...pain happens...and we find ourselves drifting further from God’s plan.  How do we deal with sin?  Confess it to God.  Ask Him to forgive us.  He promises to give us grace and a fresh start.   There may not be a cure for sin... but we do know the cause.  Let’s make every decision one that honors God... and we’ll live healthier lives as a result.

Healthy Living

It has been said, “Being well is more than eliminating the negative. Rather, it requires the addition of the positive.” 

When I read that statement I thought of our walk with God. Many times we are tempted to read the Bible as a book of “don’t”s. I need to stop doing this... quit that... get rid of this habit or that behavior. And while there are many things God asks us not to include in our lives... only subtracting the bad leads to a life that is one-sided and lacking. Scripture tells us that alongside the “no”s, we have to have some God-honoring “yesses”. Colossians 3:10 says to “Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like Him.” Want to grow more like Christ? Be more spiritually healthy? Get rid of what is holding you back.. and in turn.. fill your heart with things like love, grace, mercy, forgiveness, and patience. Out with what’s bad and in with what’s good. And before long both mind and heart will be healthier (and more Godly) than ever.