Most
people would agree that life is a painful mixture of good and bad. It’s true in
marriage, friendship, family, work, and church. Yet we are surprised and
disappointed when self-centeredness takes the stage within a fellowship of
those who seek to worship and serve Christ together.
When the
apostle John wrote to his friend Gaius, he commended the truthful living and
generous hospitality of those in his church (3 John 1:3-8). In the same
fellowship, however, Diotrephes, “who wants to be head of everything” (v.9 Phillips),
had created an atmosphere of hostility.
John
promised to deal personally with Diotrephes on his next visit to the church. In
the meantime, he urged the congregation: “Beloved, do not imitate what is evil,
but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen
God” (v.11). John’s words echo the instruction of Paul to the Christians in
Rome: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:21).
In a heated
conflict, we may be tempted to “fight fire with fire.” Yet John urges us to
turn away from what is bad and follow what is good. This is the pathway that
honors our Savior.
As light overcomes darkness, goodness can overcome evil. (RBC)
