Be at Peace with All People
It is God's will for Christians to make every effort to get along with all people. We are to love them with the love of Christ which is in our hearts because we know Him. Therefore, as far as it depends on us, we should do everything to make peace with all people. (Romans 12:18,21) However, some Christians do what those who do not know the Lord do. They seek revenge on those who hurt them, and they try to overcome evil with evil. That never works. It only makes the other person more against them. We all need to learn this lesson.
When someone hurts us, our human nature tells us to hurt them back or to ignore them. Either way, we are not loving them as Christ commanded us. We can think that if we do something similar to what they did to us, they will leave us alone. When we do that, there is no peace between us and them, and we have no peace in our hearts, since we are holding a grudge. In reality, we are hurting ourselves more than we are hurting them. That is why we are not to let evil overcome us, but we are to overcome the evil they did with the good we do back to them. If they receive our love, then we have made peace, and we have made a friend, instead of making a long time enemy. That is what the Lord wants us to do, as far as it depends on us.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Romans 13-15.
When someone hurts us, our human nature tells us to hurt them back or to ignore them. Either way, we are not loving them as Christ commanded us. We can think that if we do something similar to what they did to us, they will leave us alone. When we do that, there is no peace between us and them, and we have no peace in our hearts, since we are holding a grudge. In reality, we are hurting ourselves more than we are hurting them. That is why we are not to let evil overcome us, but we are to overcome the evil they did with the good we do back to them. If they receive our love, then we have made peace, and we have made a friend, instead of making a long time enemy. That is what the Lord wants us to do, as far as it depends on us.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Romans 13-15.