The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon

“See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek what is good for one another and for all people.”

—1 Thessalonians 5:15

“See that . . .” This means our aim is not only that we ourselves do not repay evil for evil, but that we work to ensure our Christian brothers and sisters do not repay evil for evil as well.

More and more in the world, we see the opposite—people, even Christians, seeking revenge and wishing to enact harm on those who have hurt, oppressed, or mistreated them.

We’re to oppose oppression, but we’re not to give it back to those who caused it. We’re to seek the good that may bring others into repentance and fellowship with God, and that goodness includes discipline and truth, but never evil, hatred, or vengeance. All we do should be with love and good for that person in mind.

God assures us that there is justice. Whatever it looks like to us, the wicked will not get away with their wrongs. “Vengeance is mine,” God says. It’s not ours to seek, and if we truly understand the awful eternal judgment the wicked will face, we will always hope for their redemption. 

We can never know when repaying an evildoer with good instead of what they deserve will reveal the love of God to them and save them from the worst fate imaginable.

By seeking their good, we follow the example and show the love of Christ, who, in the midst of his death on the cross, sought forgiveness for those who caused his suffering: “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

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