God’s Love Is Greater Than Evil

Evil is alive and well and there are days when it seems set to crush the human race. Many choose to embrace evil rather than fight it but to do so is to be consumed by evil. Love is greater than evil and through love, evil is overcome by good.

Evil, fear, and death hold the world in their clutches, seeking to destroy all that God created, especially human beings. People are filled with fear, these days and confused by all that is happening in the world. Hearts are hard toward God and His people and the void in human hearts meant to be filled with the Spirit of God, is filled with madness, instead. I hear talk of violent uprising in the United States, as people in Europe fill the streets in violent protests, and the Middle East continues to roil with hatred, violence, and despair. Inflation caused by the Federal Reserve digitizing twelve-trillion new dollars is causing hunger in many parts of the world and adds to the angst so many already have against the United States. Americans are feeling the pinch too and as we watch much of our wealth and freedom melt away, people mourn for the future of their children and wonder what kind of world we are leaving them. Those we’ve elected to serve us, don’t hear us, and continue to play a corrupt game of politics, set for their personal gain. People are angry. People are afraid. People are talking about the end of the world and in madness, trying to out-think and prepare for such an event. Satan knows his time is short and he is chortling as he sees so many writhing in fear. Though it appears that evil is about to crush us all, there is a way to overcome evil with good. God is love and love is greater than evil.

Frightened people can be dangerous in their desperation. The will to survive is strong and can cause people to do all kinds of inhumane things to one another. People have been known to eat their own children when faced with certain starvation. In the United States, we are still far from people starving in the streets but the spiritual condition of our people makes us a prime target for evil. Americans have been allowed to live according to what pleases us for a long time now. Many of us see no need for God or to live by any code of morality other than what feels good. Too many are enslaved by their pleasures, from food, to sex, to drugs, to alcohol, and various forms of entertainment. These material things are what we value and as a people, we are in a weakened condition. It is easy to condemn people who are strung out on drugs including, alcohol, eat too much, spend too much, or spend all their free time in some deviant sexual pursuit but the only thing able to overcome such evil is God’s love. Those of us who belong to, Jesus are called to love such people even though their actions sicken us. The only thing that differentiates us from them is God’s love through Jesus and just as He loved us when we were lost in our own pursuits of pleasure, we are to love them and overcome evil with good.

Treating others as we want to be treated doesn’t mean that they will turn around and also, treat us with love. It isn’t something any child of God should do with the purpose in mind of fixing someone or being loved by that person in return. No one is served when we serve others in an attempt to serve ourselves. We and others are served when we choose to love those who are unloveable, in service to God. Jesus served no man but instead, faithfully served His Father in Heaven and by His obedience, to the death, all people are served;by His obedience, Jesus conquered death, received eternal life, and now freely, offers it to all who believe on His Name. When those of us who are called by His Name and associated with Jesus by the world, are faced with the evil things that people do, we are to do as, Jesus did, obey God and love them anyway.

Christians aren’t perfect and that which frightens unbelievers often, frightens us too. Many people today, are unreasonable in their hatred toward Jews and Christians and it is hard not to fear the things they say and threaten to do. A lot of people have been hurt in churches by those who profess, Jesus but instead of loving sinners as Jesus loved them, they judge and paint themselves as superior. There are also, those who claim they are Christians but are simply using Christian religions for power and control over others. Who Jesus is gets lost in all of it and to the shame of the church, most people have never had,the true, Jesus revealed to them. There are also, those who were taught the Truth as children but have decided to embrace the world, instead. They are often, the ones with the greatest vitriol against the church and  wish to persecute Christians because of their faith. There is no right choice for Christians faced with this kind of hatred than that of choosing to love them, anyway. Even though we may never see, in this life-time, the fruits of our right action, love is the correct response for those who are loved by Jesus and love Him in return, when faced with evil.

Choosing to love in the face of evil doesn’t mean that we allow others to abuse us, unless, God is personally, directing us to do so. When violently persecuted, it is wise to flee and if possible, remove one’s self from that persecution. We do those who are lost no favor by allowing them to sin against us and though love is long-suffering, accepting abuse isn’t always love. Abusive people don’t understand personal boundaries and if we accept their treatment as normal, they will never learn. Accepting the abuse of an abuser is enabling them to sin. God has boundaries and as children of God, we should have personal boundaries that are like His. Jesus didn’t allow people to hurt Him until it was time for Him to die on the cross, as was appointed to Him, by God. Just as Jesus followed God’s personal instructions that were to Him, alone, so too must every believer be careful to follow God’s personal instructions for each individual. We are all different parts of the body of Christ and each of us must look to the head, which is only, Jesus for instruction and guidance. It is God’s love that is greater than evil and God’s love flows through us, by the power of the Holy Spirit, only when we look directly to Him. When we love the church, which is the spiritual body we belong to, God’s love is magnified.

These words I write are the words God has given me in my struggle with the fear of evil and the power it seems to be gaining in the world. I’m not anyone special and I have no new message but I am compelled to share how, Jesus works in my life. I am highly emotional, a heart person, and I’m prone to committing sins driven by strong emotion. God’s love isn’t like that. Evil hurts and when I respond according to my own feelings, I choose evil and hurt back. My love, human love isn’t what the world needs now or at anytime. The world needs God’s love, the kind of love that doesn’t retaliate evil for evil but the kind of love that maintains personal boundaries and loves those caught up in evil, despite how unloveable they are. Only God is perfect and if it weren’t for, Jesus Christians would remain enslaved by their own propensity toward evil. The love that saved us is the love that has the power to save all others, when Jesus is revealed to them. It is God’s kindness that leads sinners to repentance and allowing, Jesus to love others through us is the vehicle by which God demonstrates His kindness to the world. God’s love is greater than evil and God’s love is the only hope the world has to not be consumed by evil. Each believer must choose to love with the love God bestowed upon them and believe in their spirit that evil is set to be overcome by good. The greatest spiritual gift is love and it is the gift that gives all spiritual gifts their power, for good. It is the gift each of us is called to utilize during this dark era when the world is in such dire need for the God Who is Love. Amen.