I think it is not by chance that most of the references that speak of revenge in the Bible either state or imply that this is God's business. When He said, "Vengeance is Mine, and retribution," (Deuteronomy 32:35 NASB), He was not just talking about what is best; He was talking about the way things really are. We live in a litigious, pay-back world. We laugh when someone says, "I don't mad—I get even." But very often these actions aren't very satisfying. Victims of horrible crimes or their families find only limited comfort in the apprehension or even the execution of the offender(s). There may be a certain sense of closure after all that can be and should be done has been accomplished, but the loss they have suffered can never be fully repaid.
Last December, Florida police officials announced that a deceased serial killer was responsible for the 1981 abduction and murder of six-year-old Adam Walsh. For twenty-seven years, John and Revé Walsh, the boy's parents, have waited for "closure," but naming the man who was imprisoned on other murder charges and who died twelve years ago, has not provided that relief. "This has helped us close a chapter. No closure," the father said. "It's about justice. It's not about revenge or vigilantism or closure."
The Walshes' personal tragedy fueled intense efforts on their part to aid other missing and abducted children. The murder turned John, a middle-class hotel marketing executive, into one of this country's best-known advocates for missing children. He started the Adam Walsh Child Resource Center and co-founded the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which since 1984 has assisted law enforcement with more than 148,160 missing child cases, resulting in the recovery of more than 132,300 children. Beginning in 1988, John Walsh hosted the television show, "America's Most Wanted," which began profiling missing persons, especially children, in 1991. The show says its reports have led to the capture of more than 1000 fugitives. Together the Walshes lobbied for the Missing Children Act which set up an FBI database of missing children. In 2006, President Bush signed the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, which, among other things, created more stringent requirements for sex offender registration.
These devastated, heartbroken parents could easily have "drowned" in their flood of anger and grief, but Revé said, "You know, we're destroying ourselves. This is not something that Adam would want." I don't know whether or not Christian faith spurred the Walshes' decision to invest their passion in positive ways, but I do know it was a wise choice. No amount of tormenting grief could restore Adam to them. Savage anger could not bring him back.
Other losses may or may not have the measure of the Walshes' experience; that is not the point. The crux of the matter is leaving it with God. "Dear friends, 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." (Romans 12:19 NLT) "For we know the one who said, "I will take revenge. I will pay them back.' " (Hebrews 10:30 NLT)
Jesus Himself is our greatest example. "He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly." (I Peter 2:23 NLT)
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture marked NASB is used with the permission of the Lockman Foundation, www.lockman.org Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
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