Copyright by Freedom in Christ, used with permission.
Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. Romans 12:19
One of the reasons forgiveness is difficult is because it seems to go against our natural sense of justice. When we are sinned against, our natural response is to want the other person to pay for what they have done.
And actually, when sin is involved, that is God’s response too. He is the perfect judge, totally just, who sees and knows everything. And He is holy. All sin is ultimately against Him, and offends His very character and nature and He says that it must be paid for.
You can be sure that handing over to God your understandable desire to seek revenge and make someone pay absolutely does not mean that justice goes out of the window. If they are a Christian then Jesus Christ died for that sin just as He did for yours. If they are not, then God will deal with their sin.
Pray and thank God for the total forgiveness you have because of the cross!
