Read: 1 Peter 2:18-25

When He was reviled, [He]
did not revile in return.
-1 Peter 2:23

Several years ago, a university student who took the
gospel of Christ to a rough London neighborhood
encountered a group of hostile men “You rat!” said one
of the men, seizing him. “I’ve half a mind to break
your jaw!”

“My friend,” the young man replied, “if that is going
to help you at all and make me less of a rat, go ahead
and break it.”

The writer who described the incident concluded his
account by saying, “The jaw was not broken, and the
group dispersed.”

That student’s calm response to a personal threat was
powerful and Christlike. The apostle Peter said that
when our Lord Jesus Christ was reviled, He “did not
revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten,
but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously” (1
Pet. 2:23).

Our profession of faith in a just, sovereign God meets
the acid test when we are opposed for taking a stand for
the truth. If we strike back, we stand in our own
strength. If we follow Jesus’ example, we stand in the
power of God.

When the heat is on and we put our confidence in the
Lord, we will be able to do what’s right even when we’re
wronged.
-David C. McCasland

Lord, help me not retaliate
When someone’s mocking You;
Instead, give me the strength to stand
For what I know is true. -Sper

RETURNING GOOD FOR GOOD IS COMMENDABLE;
RETURNING GOOD FOR EVIL IS CHRISTLIKE.

OUR DAILY BREAD, Copyright 1999 by Radio Bible Class,
Grand Rapids,Michigan. Used by permission.