You And Your Enemies

 "Behold do not avenge yourselves, but rather
  give place to wrath; for it is written,
  "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, say the Lord."

                                                     Romans 12 : 19

Enemy is a word that makes us uncomfortable,
 isn't it? After all, christians are supposed to love
others, not have enemies except the Devil, right?
Paul made that clears, when he wrote,
"Our struggle is not against flesh and blood,
 but. . against the spiritual forces of wickedness in
the heavenly places" (Eph.6:12)

     Well, that's not exactly right. In that passage,
Paul wasn't telling us that we wouldn't or shouldn't
have enemies here on earth. Rather, he was trying 
to help us keep a proper perspective, reminding us 
that whatever enemies we're confronted with have 
Spiritual forces at their root.

    This seems more realistic, doesn't it? Let's face
 it, we all have enemies: the boss who warns us to 
never bring our religion" to work, the coworker 
who look for opportunities to sabotage us, and the
 neighbor who thinks our yard is his dog's potty 
spot."

    Enemies are a fact of life. Thankfully, though, 
God has given us some "rules engagement." In 
Roman 12:14-21, we'll learn how to live with 
friends and enemies alike-- and honor Christ in 
all situations.

    Responding to enemies God's way can be 
down right scary. After all, there's no guarantee 
that our kindnes will change their feelings and 
actions toward us; they may continued to try to 
hurt us. During times like these, we need 
protection. In verse 19 you'll find God's 
promise of divine proctection and purpose. 

    One of the hardest areas in which to trust God
 is in the matter of justice. When we perceive an 
injustice, we want to see the guilty party punished.
 We want justice to prevail. Especially if we are 
the victim. We become impatient if we are not 
avenged quickly. Yet God warn us that vengeance
 is not our  prerogative. We are to desire justice, 
but we are not to seek vengeace (Mic.6:8). When 
someone offends us, our responsibility is to 
respond to the offense with forgiveness (Matt.5:44).
 God takes the responsibility to see that justice is 
done. God loved people too much to allow sin to go 
unchecked.

    Peter claimed that God is not slow about His 
promises to us. But He is patient and long-suffering 
before He brings about judgment (2 Pet.3:9). Yet 
ultimately God has prepared for absolute justice.
 There will be no sin committed that He will leave 
unpunished. Either the punishment will fall on His 
Son or it will be charged against the sinner, but 
everyone will ultimately give an account for 
everything they have done (2Cor.5:10).

    God is absolutely just, and only He can endure 
that justice is fully carried out. If we are impatient 
and seek revenge, we presume that we are wiser 
than God, and we reveal a blatant lack of trust that 
God will do the right thing. Only trusting God's 
sovereign wisdom will we be free from our anger
 and preoccupation toward those who have 
committed evil. If we refuse to trust God's justice, 
we bevome enslaved to bitterness abd anger. 
We must guard our hearts and trust God to 
exercise His judgment against tjose who oppose 
Him.