Leave it with the Lord

Romans 12:14-21

¹⁴Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. ¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. ¹⁶Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.  Do not be conceited.¹⁷Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. ¹⁸If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay,"says the Lord. ²⁰On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. ²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Love is complimentary to those who persecute you.  Our natural tendency is to retaliate.  To give to others what we believe they deserve.  They've hurt our pride so we're going to do everything in our ability to cripple others.  That is not Love. Love is constrained in its reactions toward evil. Love is held back when evil or wickedness is done to you.   As followers of Christ, we must learn to love.. meaning.. learn to restrain ourselves from lashing out.  We must learn to surrender all things, meaning all pride, selfishness, wickedness, to God and humble ourselves realizing that it's not us, but God who has been merciful to us.  

Matthew 5:7

"Blessed are the merciful, 
      for they will be shown mercy."

We need to learn how to turn the other cheek.

When God's love is controlling you, you do nothing to retaliate.  One of the primary reasons why divorces cannot be healed is because people fight back. Two people are so hostile towards each other that it's impossible to reconcile unless one decides to never repay with evil. One needs to humble oneself, to learn.  Goal: to be more like Jesus.

1 Peter 2:22-25

²²"He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. ²³When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. ²⁴He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. ²⁵For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

1Peter 3:8 - 22

⁸Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. ⁹Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. ¹⁰For, "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. ¹¹He must turn from evil and do good;  he must seek peace and pursue it. ¹²For 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. ¹³Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? ¹⁴But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.¹⁵But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, ¹⁶keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. ¹⁷It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. ¹⁸For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, ¹⁹through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison ²⁰who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, ²¹and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²²who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

1. Love is constrained in it's reactions to evil. 

2. Love desires peace.  If it be possible, live peaceably with all men. 

Romans 14:16

¹⁶Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. ¹⁷For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, ¹⁸because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.

3. Refuses to seek revenge. Avenge not yourselves.  God is our avenger.

Let us overcome evil with good.  Only love can stop the cycle of hurts.  The sooner we surrender and humble ourselves, the sooner we mature in our walk with Christ.