Word Count: 317

Contact Ken Barnes

Returning Good for Evil

by Ken Barnes  
1/31/2019 / Christian Living

And he said again, “I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into slavery in Egypt.  But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. (Genesis 45:4b-5 NLT)

There is a natural tendency in the human heart to be treated fairly, yet Joseph marched to a different drummer.  He responded not just humanly, but divinely. He showed his brothers mercy instead of justice by returning good for evil.

At times in my life, I have reminded the Lord that it is tough to show grace to people when they are not showing much to you. After I made these reminders to the Lord, there would generally be a pregnant pause in the conversation. After a few moments, I would get the feeling that the Lord was saying to me, been there done that.  At that point, Christ was referring me back to the Cross where he said, “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34 NLT). In this life, people will spitefully use you. Jesus taught us in Matthew 5:47that if we are only kind to our friends, is this different than anyone else?  Even the non-believers do this.  What distinguished Joseph from his brothers was his willingness to return good for evil.  As Christians, what sets us apart from the world, it’s our willingness show grace to those who don’t deserve it.  Not doing so, contradicts who we are.

As believers, are you surprised in how you have been treated by the world?  Read the Book, it is part of the territory.  Take courage, people may have meant it for evil, but God intended it for good.

I worked for seventeen years as a missionary with Youth With A Mission. My missionary work has taken me to Mexico, Canada, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Spain, and Ukraine. I hold a Masters of Education in curriculum and instruction from Virginia Commonwealth University. [email protected]

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS

If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be! Click here and TRUST JESUS NOW

Read more articles by Ken Barnes

Like reading Christian Articles? Check out some more options. Read articles in Main Site Articles, Most Read Articles or our highly acclaimed Challenge Articles. Read Great New Release Christian Books for FREE in our Free Reads for Reviews Program. Or enter a keyword for a topic in the search box to search our articles.

Enter comments below. Due to spam, all hyperlinks posted in the comments are now immediately disabled by our system.

Please type the following word below:

Not readable? Change text.

The opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.

Hire a Christian Writer, Christian Writer Wanted, Christian Writer Needed, Christian Content Needed, Find a Christian Editor, Hire a Christian Editor, Christian Editor, Find a Christian Writer