Conquer Evil with Good
I don’t know about you, but I keep looking around, wondering what I can do and how I can help at this particular time in history.
The other day, while watching videos of hostages being reunited with their families after 480+ days in captivity, I wept. Knowing their families no longer look the way they did on October 7, 2023, and knowing that the healing that is ahead is going to take time. And yet, watching those videos and seeing laughter and smiles and the delight of being together again, I was reminded of what it is to hold joy and sorrow simultaneously.
Romans 12:15, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep,” has been a scripture I come back to again and again. Last week, I opened my Bible to these words and found that all the words surrounding this verse point us toward love in a way that is not always easy but is good.
One of the hostages said he had told his captors that when there is peace when the war is over, he will come back and teach them to farm.
When I heard those words, I thought, man, I’m not sure if I’m brave enough to forgive in that way.
In Romans 12, Paul uses language similar to 1 Corinthians 13 to describe what it means to love well. I’m going to commit these words to memory this month—maybe you want to as well?
Romans 12:9-21 (CSB)
“Let love be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good.
Love one another deeply as brothers and sisters. Take the lead in honoring one another.
Do not lack diligence in zeal; be fervent in the Spirit; serve the Lord.
Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer.
Share with the saints in their needs; pursue hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.
Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud; instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation.
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Give careful thought to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes.
If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written, ‘Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay,’ says the Lord.
But
‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him.
If he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
For in so doing
you will be heaping fiery coals on his head.’
Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.”
May God show us what is ours to do in this season, and may we have the courage to keep showing up in all the spaces we’ve been invited into. May we be beacons of peace. May we love each other well. And may evil be conquered by the good we do.
~ Melissa