“Overcome evil with good”

During the Korean War, a South Korean civilian was arrested by the communists and ordered to be shot. When the young communist leader learned that the prisoner in his charge was the head of an orphanage caring for young children, he decided to spare him. Instead, he ordered the execution of the man’s son. The nineteen-year-old son was shot in the presence of his father. After the war, the young communist leader was captured by United Nations forces and condemned to death. But before the sentence could be carried out, the Christian whose son had been killed pleaded for the life of the killer. He argued that the communist had been young when he ordered the execution and that he really didn’t know what he was doing. “Give him to me,” the man requested, “and I will train him.” Unusual though it was, the United Nations forces granted his request, and the father took the murderer of his son into his own home and took care of him. The Bible says, “Love never fails” (1 Corinthians 13:8 NKJV). And by being exposed to the love of God, that young communist leader became a Christian and eventually went on to become the pastor of a church. Have you been hurt, betrayed, or treated unfairly? Instead of retaliating in anger, handle it scripturally: “Never pay back evil with more evil… Never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the scriptures say, ‘I will take revenge; I will pay them back,’ says the Lord…Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good” (Romans 12:17, 19, 21 NLT).