Overcome evil with good. Romans 12:21
Paul is writing to Christians in Rome and he is telling them, “The evils you have suffered do not need to define you.”
In other words, he is saying, “You can overcome the evil that was done to you and you can overcome the evil that is around you.” But what does that look like?
Think of the evils that were perpetrated against Jesus. The injustice he endured, the violence he suffered, and how he faced this alone because he was abandoned by his friends.
Think about the physical and verbal abuse that was poured out on Jesus. Think about how people mocked him, spat on him, and beat him over the head again and again.
None of us has endured evil as Jesus did. But he was not overcome! What was the good with which he overcame evil?
The good of faith. Jesus trusted the Father, “Into your hands I commit my spirit,” even when he could not see what he was doing: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
The good of hope. “For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame” (Heb. 12:2).
The good of love. Jesus prayed for his enemies on the cross: “Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing”; and in that prayer, he created room for them to repent.
There is hope for you in Jesus Christ today. Evil did not overcome him, and if you walk with him, it will not overcome you.
You could come to God today and say, “I don’t want to be overcome by evil! I don’t want to be defined by the evils I have suffered. Help me overcome evil with good.”
