PAST COLUMN #18

From the West Meadow
By Pastor Wesley Higgins

True peace can only exist in the absence of evil.

Ultimately, it is the provence of God to decide when He will deal with Satan and his demons–the purveyors of evil. But as Christians, we have a responsibility to face down evil wherever we encounter it. Paul tells us to “repay no one evil for evil, [but] have regard for good things in the sight of all men.” (Romans 12:17) Our God whom as Christians we follow is the God of love (I John 4:8), and He teaches us as Christians to show love (John 15:12). God through Paul tells us “if it is possible...live peaceably with all men...Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Rom 12:18,21).

We are called to be overcomers–not just of our own problems but of the evil that we encounter in our day to day lives. As Christians, God has filled everyone of us with the love of His Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). And that spirit of love, if used, flows out of our hearts like “rivers of living water” (John 7:38-39) and touches everyone around us.

We tend to want everything to be complicated. “What is the Holy Spirit? How do we get more Holy Spirit? How does the Holy Spirit work?” It is human to cloak the simplicity of God’s religion in big theological terms, when in reality all we have to do is “be doers of the word, not hearers only.” (James 1:22) This simplicity is found in living (doing) God’s way. Jesus says “love your enemies, pray for those who curse you, do good to those who hate you and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you”–why?--“that you may be sons of your Father in heaven”, showing perfect love “just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:44,45,48)

Paul reminds us, in practical terms, how loving your enemy is carried out. “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink...” (Rom 12:20) Jesus describes how the Father showers out the blessings of life on everyone, whether good or bad (Matt 5:48). In fact, Jesus says that how we treat those in need (and the scripture doesn’t qualify “those in need” as good or bad) is the basic criteria used for judging the worthiness of our lives (read Matthew 25:31-46).

So, what does this all mean? As creations of our Father we are to use the same basic tool of overcoming evil as He does–love.

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