Perhaps the most famous story about revenge is The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas. In the story we see the main character Edmund Dantes carry out his revenge against those who had put him in prison and taken away his fiancée. Dantes actually considers himself to be an agent of God’s revenge against injustice at the beginning of the story, but as his schemes begin to unravel he begins to see he is not in control and more than just his enemies are hurt. In 1st Samuel we see how David was positioned to defeat his enemy King Saul twice, but choose not to because he considered God’s anointing of Saul more important than his own kingship. Instead, David spares Saul’s life and in doing so shows Saul that he is in fact not his enemy. For many of us the seemingly right thing to do in the face of injustice is to scheme revenge. We wonder like an envious younger brother or sister that if God gets to take revenge, then why don’t we? A simple answer is that we are not God. However, an honest answer says that if we seek revenge we are saying that the salvation provided in the forgiveness of Jesus is not good enough. In David’s life we see that he considered God’s plan for the nation of Israel more important than his own plans for being King. In contrast, we see Dantes thinking that his plan of revenge is more important than anyone he happens to hurt along the way. One important distinction to make is that God does not simply ignore sin or injustice, but rather he took care of it by pouring out punishment on Jesus instead of us. When Jesus comes back he will ultimately set right what has gone wrong. One thing that remains clear is that we are to fight injustice with the forgiveness spelled out in the cross. This involves picking up our own cross and dying to our selves and our ideas of wanting to take revenge. What makes you want to take out revenge? Maybe it is the guy in your traffic lane who does not know how to drive. Maybe it is the girl who spread rumors about you, or the roommate who destroyed something of value, or maybe it is a controlling parent or boss. Is there someone in your life that you just can’t bring yourself to forgive? Is that someone you? Forgiveness is not simply assuming that everything goes back to normal or that there is no relational boundaries set up. Forgiveness is allowing grace into your own heart and trusting that God’s plan of forgiveness is enough. Forgiveness is not simply something to do when someone says, “I’m sorry.” Forgiveness is a way of constantly living in light of what Jesus did for you and treating other people that way.

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This Thursday (Oct. 1) is your last chance to sign up for the Fall Retreat. We’re joining our friends at the Salt Company in Ames, IA again this year. Every year God does awesome stuff in students’ lives at the retreat! I’m especially excited about our speaker this year, Ed Noble. He’s an awesome teaching pastor out of the San Diego area who is sure to deliver some insightful and challenging talks. The retreat is at the Hidden Acres Camp in Dayton, IA and registration is $50. Sign up Thursday!

In 1st Samuel, we find that Saul and David took very different paths. Saul went down a path filled with partial obedience, excuses for his actions, jealousy, and busyness that ultimately hardened his heart towards God. Saul did not lose his kingship over night, but rather he developed a pattern in his life that cut God out of the picture. In 1st Samuel 13, Saul was confronted about making a sacrifice without Samuel, and instead of repenting Saul justified his actions with religious jargon and placed blame on Samuel. In Samuel 16, Saul was allowed to experience anguish for his sin, but instead of repenting he tried to block out the anguish with David’s music on the harp. However, David did not become King overnight either. David took a path filled with time with God, seeking humility, and repentance when he had sinned. In 1st Samuel 16, David was anointed by Samuel, but he did not become King right away. He developed habits that would bring him closer to God so that he could reflect the character of God. What path are you taking? Are you taking the path of Saul by making excuses for your actions and blocking out the voice of God with constant noise? Are you taking the path of David by carving out time to spend with Jesus so that you may become more like him? We are not saved by developing good habits, but we are made like Christ by spending time with him in his word and prayer. The Poet Robert Frost has a poem called The Road Not Taken and the last part of the poem says, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” What road or path are you on today? Who are you becoming? You are becoming somebody. Chase after Jesus so that you may become like him and you will find he is the one chasing after you.
For further reading check out 1st Samuel 13:1-14 and 1st Samuel 16

We had an awesome time Saturday hanging out on a hay ride, watching fireworks, and trying to start a bonfire several times. The highlight was watching Stephan set the bottle of gasoline on fire and then proceed to run with it still clutched in his hands.

Dear blog readers,

Christ Community Church has a new website. Hopefully you will find www.cccomaha.org to be useful for all things up and coming at CCC. One of the necessary changes was to move this blog. To continue to receive updates, please subscribe using the following link:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/cccomaha/college

Thank you,

Greg Nunamaker
Web Manager
Christ Community Church