Daily Bread

BEARING THE BURDEN OF WRONGS

G-et into God's Word

1 Peter 3:8-14

'Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For, "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech. They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil." Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened." ' 

R-eflect into God's Word

How do you handle when someone did evil things to you, do you take revenge on them? 

On January 30, 2018, almost 38 years after his conviction, Malcolm Alexander walked out of prison a free man. DNA evidence cleared Alexander, who had steadfastly maintained his innocence amid a myriad of court proceedings that were tragically unjust. an incompetent defense attorney, shoddy evidence, and dubious investigative tactics all put an innocent man in prison for nearly 4 decades. When he was finally released, however, Alexander showed immense grace. "You cannot be angry," he said. "There's not enough time to be angry."

Alexander's words evidence that deep grace. if the injustice of 38 years of our lives and destroyed our reputations, we would likely be angry and furious. Though Alexander spends many long, heartbreaking years bearing the burden of wrongs inflicted upon him, he wasn't undone by the evil. Rather than exerting his energy trying to get revenge, he exhibited the posture Peter and instructs: "Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult" (v.9).

The Scriptures go a step further: rather than seeking vengeance, the apostle Peter tells us we are to bless (v.9). We extend forgiveness, the hope of well-being, for those who have unjustly wronged us. Without excusing their evil actions, We can meet them with God's scandalous mercy. On the cross, Jesus wore the burden of our wrongs, that we might receive grace and extend it to others - even those who have wronged us.

In our lives, we also can experience this kind of situation, perhaps, minor as this but involves our reputation. In a minor or major situation like this, we had different situations where we can experience and challenge our anger, and maybe if we were in Alexander's shoes, we would seek vengeance on those who did it to us. But, we see what the Lord tells us through Peter, He reminds us not to repay evil with evil. This is enough for us to handle our anger and just bless them instead of revenge.

O-bey to transform

Without excusing their actions, how can you extend mercy to others who have wronged you? What will it mean for you to "bless" them?

W-restle in Prayer

It's it's hard not to want those who hurt you to hurt just as much, but you can ask God and let him help you to live out His mercy and grace.

#RepayEvilWithBlessing

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 https://my.bible.com/bible/111/1PE.3.8-14