CHARLO, New Brunswick, October 8, 2023 – Jesus taught us that the measure we mete is the measure we get in return.

In other words, what goes around, comes around and we get what we deserve, whether in love or in war.

Other than for Jesus, there are no innocent victims. There is only God’s justice playing out in real time.

That’s not to say that things don’t on occasion happen that you haven’t earned, like with Job. But when a Job-like situation arises, it’s a test. You don’t fight it. You stand your spiritual ground but you don’t fight it.

If you handle the test in the right way (that is, the godly way, the Jesus way), you’ll not only recoup whatever you lost, you’ll get it back in spades. God is very generous with his reimbursements. Look at how he reimbursed Jesus for his sufferings. Look at how he reimbursed Job and Lazarus the beggar. I know from personal experience that when I respond to God’s tests the right way, God rushes to shower me with gifts afterwards, like the father rushed to shower his prodigal son. But when I grumble or whine or push back against my heavenly Father, no spiritual cigars for me and I have to start the test all over again.

Unfortunately, the world has no time for God’s lessons. In the world, when someone strikes a blow against you, you strike back, as in an eye for an eye. Only, it usually ends up being an eye and a nose and half a lip and a few teeth for an eye, because vengeance is the purlieu of God, not the world. When God says “vengeance is mine, I will repay”, he means that he and he alone knows the exact measure that is due and the best time and means to deliver it. The world only knows crude measurements and crude timing and crude delivery methods that worsen the situation rather than even the score, prompting further retaliation and yet more eyes.

And because the world has no time for God’s lessons and does such a bad job at vengeance, we should never get involved in the world’s conflicts. They are not our concern. They are either God’s tests or God’s chastisement or God’s judgement, none of which we should protest or question. We don’t take sides because Jesus never took sides when it came to the world’s concerns and we always follow Jesus’ example. He never got involved in issues related to the Roman occupation, for instance. He only said that God had put the world under Satan, but that he’d overcome the world, so we should be of good cheer.

We are followers of Jesus, not of the world. We stand with Jesus, not with the world. Our realm is the Kingdom, not the world. The conflicts of the world are not our business. Our business is the business of the Kingdom only, as exemplified by Jesus in his preaching and teaching.

We don’t take sides, no matter the provocation. We observe – we’re always watching and praying that God’s will be done – but we never take sides.

“…for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.”

Matthew 26:52