Not by Vengeance, but Mercy: Ryan Rae
“But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:13-17)
The state of the world today would focus its efforts on retribution and call it justice. I would not call this a new development, seeing that we have had idioms like “eye for an eye” since the beginning of civilization. I, and I feel many others, have felt a struggle to forgive my neighbor for the ways I have been mistreated. Is vengeance something that we can escape as Christ’s followers? The answer is no. Psalms show us countless ways and instances where the People of God seek retribution and the death of their enemies. In fact, in Psalm 109 we are given 20 verses in which prayers of harm against a wicked foe are asked of God. It reveals that these feelings are ageless and reoccur over our lives as people in a fallen world. So, it would be unauthentic for us to say that Christians do not feel the pain of our suffering. When we let these feelings go unheard, they only grow larger and would condemn us. But these words are not spoken for merely a cathartic reprieve or to get something off our chest. They serve a self-reflective turn, allowing us to not follow suit with our own sin and opening us up to the full embrace of God’s love. “But you, O God my Lord, deal on my behalf for your name’s sake; because your steadfast love is good, deliver me” (Psalm 109:21)! God’s love would end the chain of suffering and allow us to turn away from the venom of vengeance.
Now I would like to take the time to remember Peter. I find myself admiring Peter more and more as the years go by, because we are shown what it takes to make change last in our souls. The passage above taken from Peter 1 shows how Christians are to handle adversity, obstacles, and change with God’s love. It reveals the underlying grace and mercy that we give to any “enemy” or sinners that would seek what we have or corrupt our actions to their own cause. It is Peter imitating Christ’s greatest and most underused lesson of “love your enemy”. While I love Peter’s words, and he lives up to them through his action for the early church, I would like to point out that this is a man changed by Christ. Not a lot of time has passed between this letter and when Peter draws his sword and inflicts harm on a soldier sent to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. I have no doubt in my mind that many people out in the world who define themselves as Christians would have done the same, but Christ reveals that his ministry will only be sustained by the Blood of the Lamb, not by the blood of his enemies. Christ disarms Peter and cements that His word is one of peace and mercy. We can see this as an isolated act of grace to Christ’s captors, forgiving the soldiers for the fate that befalls Christ, but we would then deprive ourselves of what this act of love did for Peter. Christ reveals that retribution that comes from acts of violence is only vengeance. Saving Peter from this wound begins him on the path of forgiving the world that would kill Christ and becoming the minister that he was always going to be.
Christ dying on the cross showed that no transgression should come between man and forgiveness. Peter was taught that not even the Messiah should be avenged with our anger. We are taught that we should understand our feelings, but not be ruled by them. The poison of retribution can be given to God and we are made better for it. The world would seem to have us bound together by the anger of our souls and fighting with one another, but I come to remind you again that we are saved by mercy, not a sword.
Ryan is a former Wesley intern who lives in Nashville, Tennessee with his wife McCall (a fellow former intern). He has a love of reading, writing, and music. Ryan brought much joy, laughter, and wisdom as an intern, and he remains close to the hearts of those in our community.