"...God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you."
2 Thessalonians 1:6 (ESV)
2 Thessalonians 1:6 (ESV)
The concept of a "eye-for-an-eye" God doesn't set well with us. We embrace (in words if not in deeds) the "love your neighbor" approach to faith. God, the Apostle John tells us, is love (1 John 4:8, 16). The two great commands of Christianity are to love God and to love each other. Pastor's preach love, bookstores peddle books about Christian love, and you can even find heart shaped chocolate candies for Valentine's day with verses about love on the packaging. In short, we "get" the idea of love (again, in word if not in deed).
So what are we to do with these very unloving verses in the Bible? Is God really telling us not to worry because he is going to unleash his judgment on our enemies? Are we supposed to be comforted, or even excited about this? Is it OK to take a "God is gonna get you" mentality to those who abuse or hurt us?
I don't believe this is what Paul is telling us in this verse. Nowhere does Paul tells us to be happy about God's judgment of unbelievers. In this letter, Paul is writing to a group of believers who were being harassed and perhaps even killed because of their faith. They were suffering. Their families were being torn apart and some perhaps went into hiding.
Think of a soldier on a battlefield. He has fought bravely, and now find that he has been mortally wounded. Laying there bleeding, the medic arrives and informs him there is nothing he can do. Though in danger themselves, his comrades circle around him during his last few moments on earth. His last words are a whisper...win it for me fellas.
Paul writes to a community engaged in a spiritual battle. There have been casualties. He writes to assure them that their afflictions have not been in vain. They are not undergoing needless, senseless suffering. They are part of something much larger, much bigger--like a war. This is no world war, this is a war for the very cosmos of existence.
Paul is telling them, ultimately, that God will win the war for them. The outcome of the war has never been uncertain. Though the battle is currently being fought, the conclusion is only a matter of time. Our suffering in this life for Jesus is not in vain. God has guaranteed a victory. Is is not merely God's holiness that propels Him to judge the wicked, it is also His love for us.
We do not take comfort in the fact that God judges the wicked. We do, however, take comfort in the fact that God will win--and that He will win because of His great love for us.
So what are we to do with these very unloving verses in the Bible? Is God really telling us not to worry because he is going to unleash his judgment on our enemies? Are we supposed to be comforted, or even excited about this? Is it OK to take a "God is gonna get you" mentality to those who abuse or hurt us?
I don't believe this is what Paul is telling us in this verse. Nowhere does Paul tells us to be happy about God's judgment of unbelievers. In this letter, Paul is writing to a group of believers who were being harassed and perhaps even killed because of their faith. They were suffering. Their families were being torn apart and some perhaps went into hiding.
Think of a soldier on a battlefield. He has fought bravely, and now find that he has been mortally wounded. Laying there bleeding, the medic arrives and informs him there is nothing he can do. Though in danger themselves, his comrades circle around him during his last few moments on earth. His last words are a whisper...win it for me fellas.
Paul writes to a community engaged in a spiritual battle. There have been casualties. He writes to assure them that their afflictions have not been in vain. They are not undergoing needless, senseless suffering. They are part of something much larger, much bigger--like a war. This is no world war, this is a war for the very cosmos of existence.
Paul is telling them, ultimately, that God will win the war for them. The outcome of the war has never been uncertain. Though the battle is currently being fought, the conclusion is only a matter of time. Our suffering in this life for Jesus is not in vain. God has guaranteed a victory. Is is not merely God's holiness that propels Him to judge the wicked, it is also His love for us.
We do not take comfort in the fact that God judges the wicked. We do, however, take comfort in the fact that God will win--and that He will win because of His great love for us.
0 comments:
Post a Comment