Vengeance

Vengeance: punishment inflicted or retribution exacted for an injury or wrong.

⁶ O God, break the teeth in their mouths;
    tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!
⁷ Let them vanish like water that runs away;
    when he aims his arrows, let them be blunted.
⁸ Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime,
    like the stillborn child who never sees the sun.
⁹ Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns,
    whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!

Psalms 58:6-9 ESV

 

    As I am reading through the book of Psalms right now, one of the themes that I am picking up is this idea of vengeance.  Often it is King David praying to God to unleash His vengeance on either his or the nation of Israel’s enemies for doing them wrong.  Vengeance is not only a very strong word that provokes a lot of emotion, but often is a theme in books, movies and even songs.  Vengeance is one of the major themes found in the book The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas.  The theme of the book is where the lead character Edmond Dantes gets unjustly thrown a life sentence in prison.  During his sentence, Edmond becomes bitter and filled with vengeance to destroy the people who put him there.  After being thrown off a cliff and surviving, he develops a different persona and beginning to lie and use the people around him to get what he wants and that is vengeance. Here are a couple of ideas or assumptions that come along with this idea of vengeance.   

 

   My first idea of vengeance is that is the assumption that we are on the right side of history and on the right side of the issue.  There is no way we can be wrong on this issue because we have reason, facts, experience or some famous person backing our thoughts or ideology.  What becomes problematic is that no matter how wrong we are or how faulty our logic and reasoning are, we still think we are right.  When we get this way, we become hellbent on being right, especially when it is a hot button topic like the presidential election, immigration, gun control or any other issue that is big or small.  I think when one so hellbent, there is a good chance that

we can’t see the forest through the trees and all reasoning and logic, common sense and discernment can be thrown out the window.  Because we are more concerned making people pay than being holy.

 

   My second idea of vengeance is this assumption that we are not only on Gods side, but we also speak for God.  Through out the Bible, there are people who think that God is with them, but in all actuality, God is no where to be found.  King Saul was about to go into battle and he was afraid, so he prayed to God for comfort and direction, but God did not respond, even though God put Saul in that position.  Saul had abandoned Gods ways and in the time of need, God was no where to be found.  Saul disguised himself and consulted a sourer to bring back the Prophet Samuel back from the dead so could gain some sort of direction and comfort.  When Samuel came back, Saul was found out and he got an earful.  Vengeance often leads us down the road to thinking that God is on our side and He is giving us His blessing to perform our actions to either get justice or to make ourselves feel better and in all reality, God has no part in it. 

 

   My third observation is that vengeance is based more on feeling than on fact.  There are facts involved, but it is how those facts make us feel.  How often those facts we hold on too, are distorted, or incomplete or just down right false.  How often is our vengeance based on hurt, fear, or anger.  These are all valid emotions, but when they become the sole basis for action, truth becomes subjective and can be ever changing depending on who we are interacting with and the situation.  We do whatever makes us feel good and whatever feels like what the appropriate response is.  We have to take the advice of the 80’s band Boston and life has to be more than just a feeling because if was, we take the Kelly Clarkson approach and ruin a cheating ex boyfriends brand new four wheel drive. 

 

   My fourth and final observation about vengeance is that we base our lives on the creed eye for an eye.  The argument against this if we did this, the whole world would go blind.  The thing with vengeance is that it often continues to build, because the response to our vengeance is often vengeance, and then we have to respond with something greater and it just continues to escalate.  This often leads to generational hate, distrust and even alienation.  This often moves from person vs person vengeance to a group of people vs another group of people.  The extreme case is Archduke Franz Fernidinand of Austria being assassinated and different world powers supporting their allies and World War I breaking out, which lead to World War II. 

 

   To wrap things up, here is the problem when we become consumed with vengeance, it leaves no room for grace and forgiveness.  We either play the victim card and don’t take responsibility for our part, or we become jaded an hateful, and nothing we do satisfies us and we keep doing the next thing hoping we can find peace.  I am fully aware that there are and needs to be consequences for one’s actions and there need to be healthy boundaries in place and they can be difficult to put into place and keep, but there is another way.  Moses put it this way in Deuteronomy 32 that vengeance belongs to God and He alone will vindicate His people because God takes care of His own  His people are those who do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with Him. 

“Oh, God,” said Monte Cristo, “your vengeance may sometimes be slow in coming, but I think that then it is all the more complete.”

 

Questions To Ponder

    Is there a difference between our justice and Gods?

    What is the biggest struggle to waiting for God to provide justice?

    Does vengeance turn into hate?

    Do we ever think we are doing Gods business and He is with us, yet God is nowhere to be

       Found?

Ressurection

Resurrection: the action or fact of resurrecting or being resurrected; (in Christian belief) Christ's rising from the dead.

²¹ “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” ²³ Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” ²⁴ Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” ²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; ²⁶ and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” ²⁷ “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

John 11:21-27

 

     The resurrection is what differentiates Christianity from every other world religion.  God shows His love and authority over creation through the power of the resurrection.  The only reason the resurrection is possible is because of Jesus death and ultimate sacrifice on the cross that defeated sin and death.  The resurrection is what gives us hope and the promise of eternal life, which allows us to commune and be in God’s presence for eternity. Here are some thoughts that I have been wresting with on the idea on the resurrection

 

    My first observation on the resurrection that with no resurrection, there is no Christianity.  One of the biggest arguments that is used against Christianity is that Jesus didn’t actually die.  He came close to death on the cross to the point of unconsciousness but He didn’t die. This line of thinking makes Christianity out to be a hoax, and that Jesus was a mere mortal who eventually died a natural death.  Essentially with no resurrection, there is no Christianity and we have to redefine our views on God, miracles and eternity. 

   

    The other part to this thought is that if Jesus did make the ultimate sacrifice on the cross, and did not rise from the dead, we are still in trouble.  Jesus sacrifice may have taken care of the Old Testament sacrificial system, but we are still stuck in sin.  Jesus death gives us forgiveness for our sins, but His resurrection is what gives us the power over sin and death.  In essence we don’t have to keep banging our head against the wall and continue to live in sin and making poor decisions. 

 

    My second observation that it is hard for someone or something to be resurrected if it is not dead.  Whether it is life itself or a particular habit/characteristic, it can not be brought back to life if it still has a heart beat.  Death can mean the loss of something or someone important and it even means that there is pain involved.   How often do we pull a Martha and blame God for not showing up in time to fix or to protect us from something?  How often do we try and keep something alive, whether it’s a relationship, an activity or moral character that we try to keep alive because we do not want to go through the pain of loosing it and having it die off.  What makes death and resurrection so hard is that there is something that we need to change, and changing is not our strong suit. 

 

   My third observation is that we all have thoughts, attitudes, actions and speech that need to not only go away, but to die.  These are characteristics that take the focus off of God and places it on ourselves and or others.  These things either get us into trouble, or is not what God has called us to do.  Either way, these things either causes us to sin.  These characteristics often drives wedges into our relationship with God and or others, which causes alienation and even eternal issues if left unattended for a long time. 

 

   Resurrection comes in when these attitudes die and go away, something takes it place and are they holy things.  If a smoker gives up smoking , but turns to food, not only is the addiction not dead, but one is trading breathing issues for diabetes and a heart condition.  Resurrection means that the dead is gone and new life is being formed.  It is replacing the destructive things in our lives with the Fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23.  It is things like love, patience, kindness, and self-control.  Resurrection is Jesus providing a way for it to happen, and the Holy Spirit indwelling in us to make it happen because this is something that we can not do on our own.  At salvation, we get all of God, and whether you call it maturing, growing in grace, or sanctification, this process is God getting all of us.  This is where we give things over to God and He makes us a new creation.

 

   My fourth observation is the idea that resurrection is different than recessitation.  Going back to the story of Lazarus, Jesus did show His authority and Lazarus was raised from the dead.  What makes recessatation different is that Lazarus died again.  When we get to heaven, Lazarus will be there, but we have to realize the only way we are getting off this earth is either through death or if Jesus comes back, and death is the most popular option right now.  Jesus was resurrected because He didn’t die again, but ascended up into heaven and is sitting at the right hand of God the Father and will come back again to judge the quick and the dead. 

 

   My final observation and probably my favorite is found in the letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church.  Paul emphatically proclaims:

Death is swallowed in in victory

O death, where is your victory

O death, where is your sting

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law

But thanks be to God, who gives us victory through

Our Lord Jesus Christ

I Corinthians 15:54-57

This shows that God gave Jesus authority over all and that we can have hope not only in the future for eternity, but this hope extends to the here and now because of the resurrection.  I have said it before and I will say it again, Jesus is not only our hope, but He is the resurrection and the life.  This means He has authority in the future but He is in the business of making all things new in the here and now.  This only can happen when we accept His grace and make Him the Lord of our lives.  This means that we come under His authority and we participate in what He is doing in the here and now.

 

Questions to Ponder

   What are those things in our lives that need to die?

   What are those things that need to be resurrected in our lives?

   Why do we struggle with death?

   How often do we play the blame game?