Makes me want to cower somewhere and hide - it is such an awesome sounding word - coming out of a heart filled with unforgiveness, anger and a desire to see justice done.
Vengeance can take on many forms and many locations - it is generally and mostly carried out by us wanting to get our own back for something we see as wrong or offensive to us.
Ephesians 4:31-32 says "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and slander be put away from you along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."
Pretty amazing words and so true - BUT it is pretty hard to do if we have been severely hurt by someone or the legal system has let us down - that can be very devastating and so wrong - everything inside of us cries out for justice.
Think about these verses from Romans 12:19 and let them sink in:
"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".
Now they are pretty amazing words as well - I must admit that I have read these words before and have tried to put them into practice but always have failed until just recently.
When someone or something offends us - the first thing we must realise and immediately put into practice is that very verse in Romans.
If we are a Christian and we have given our entire lives to Him then the Great God of creation - our Lord and Savour not only knows who the person is that has offended us - but what was said - what the motive was and what our reaction is going to be.
If that person is a Christian, then it is up to the Lord to lay on that person's heart his/her need to seek forgiveness and to put things right.
Certainly not up to us to jump the queue and try to beat God at His own game.
If that person is not a Christian - then we have two trains of thought.
1) The person could very well become a Christian and then of course it becomes the work of the Holy Spirit to convict that person of their need for forgiveness.
Again, let's not try to usurp God's plans and get there before Him - probably making things heaps worse with maybe dire consequences for you and the person involved.
2) The person may never come to know the Lord! That being the case - our Lord knows exactly what was said and what was done.
He knows how you were hurt - he knows how your reputation, feelings, family, finances etc were effected.
He also knows the injustice of what happened and how the consequences of that injustice has played out for you over the years.
It then becomes His, holy, righteous and just 'vengeance' to deal with the problem. Not ours!
You see, either way we look at the problem of vengeance we come up with the same answer.
It is God's job to repay.
He will be our Champion on the day of Judgement - He will lead us through to the other end - He will give us peace when there is no peace and He will certainly make sure that there will never be any one sin ever committed in the world unaccounted for.
Now that's an awesome thought - EVERY sin will be accounted for:- Either at the cross of Jesus or at the throne of God!
That leaves us with where each of us stands at this moment.
Are you prepared for the coming Glory of God? - Sins completely forgiven and nailed to the cross of Jesus or...
Are you coasting along - keeping unforgiveness and savouring vengeance in your heart - planning how and when to exact it?
We can't carry unforgiveness in our hearts and still be following the Lord.
We need to either ask forgiveness or give forgiveness -
Jesus said :- "If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins". Matthew 6:14 & 15.
It will probably be one of the hardest calls you will have to make - but you will certainly let a prisoner free - free from guilt and free from carrying around a burden that has stopped a relationship with the Lord and...
That prisoner is you!
Lord, help us to reach the unreachable, change the unchangeable, love the unlovely and forgive the unforgivable.
Lord you are the ONLY one to help us do the impossible - change our hearts Lord - help us bit by bit to become the type of people you want us to become.
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