Keep Watch. Stay Ready.

The Alpha.

The Omega.

First.

Last.

Beginning.

End.

Alway and Always.

”The end will restore what was broken in the beginning.” (psp)

Sometimes we search and search for a heaven-like existence down here on planet earth. We care to look heavenly, eat heavenly, smoke heavenly etcetera. We obsess about winning. Beating the other guy. Frenemies and enemies waltz and dance. Lie and cheat. Skirt important issues about life double crossing each other and separating the minutiae of truth with a sharp knife.

We walk along trying to make sense of the waltz’s and stories told to cover this or that. While we walk along alone and cry silently with desperation we come upon two options in this life.

Good and evil.

While alone, our deepest need of belonging is eluding us. We have been told all our life, it was implicitly implied we are the freak.

As we walk alone, we remember we have learned there is a tree of life, one rule. (psp) We know this to be true because we know about good and evil. We are confused as to why bad things happen to good people. Should bad things only happen to bad people? Why do bad things happen at all?

What is the rule? Of a life well lived. A heaven-like existence down here on planet earth with all the trees of life waiting to be sown with branches of growth.

The golden rule? The Tree of Knowledge begs us to come over, sit down and contemplate what it means to really know the difference between good and evil.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Even in the face of great evil. We think this to be impossible.

Or. Think we know about good and evil. Our deepest needs not met because articulating our own weakness is not within our grasp. Allowing sin to enter and a nasty curse at the same time the frenemies visit us, elbow us out of the way while the enemies scoff in our general direction.

In the heat of the moment. We panic at the notion of how far we have come yet how much we should have considered how much we have been forgiven. Salvation is the gift. We accept it foolheartedly thinking it is free. No wrong will be left unaddressed. We wonder, though, is it our job to right the wrong?

The struggle is real.

The struggle of a single relationship.

The struggle of humanity and each other.

The struggle of humanity and creation.

The struggle of humanity and God. “(psp)

Vengeance is not the answer. In the heat of the moment, may “feel good”. In the long run, revenge only makes us weaker. There is a justification in revenge. The “getting away with it” mentality we think we are personally owed. More satisfying.

If we are truly honest with ourselves. We do find some comfort in the undoing of another when they have wronged us. Especially in the tug of war never ending cycle of tit for tat.

We defend ourselves. Forgetting that always and forever,

God wins.

We may think we do. Win. In the moment. In the heat of a moment. Striking back with words of venom and elbows of exclusion.

We simply could have asked for someone to “come”. Sit with us. Pride gets us in our own way and vengeance keeps us stuck in our own way.

He. Saves us by his grace. We are rewarded by good deeds. We fail by making the mistake of taking the lesser of the evil. We attempt to stay the course avoiding a cynical obsession that we are owed anything in this life good or bad.

We are not. Owed anything. Good. Or. Bad.

He gives us the gift of salvation freely and generously. We sometimes even use Him as our “out” when we do not encourage others. To believe. Sing with a happy heart.

We can earn a great deal about respect in how we revere Him and His teachings. We deny one another an existence of showing true love in the face of personal devilish acts of grandeur. Revenge may be sweet. To live with the cost of failing Him, not so much.

Justice delayed is justice denied.

Yes. True.

In heaven there is no death, dying, crying or pain.

That is reserved for down here on planet earth. To earn our place in His good graces is to show Him how we handle the cold plate of revenge when it is served—to us.

Will we know it when we see it? Who knows.

Keep watch. Stay ready. (psp)

Why?

By a position of readiness to serve in His name, we need to stay awake, alert to the cries and pain of one another.. Easier said, than done, for sure. When sin entered us, the curse did, too. We fight with our own gut of self-satisfication feeling that we are owed better than another.

We are not.

The ultimate grudge match? The rancor and the smells-like- a-rat provocations and situations probably means something more obvious— to someone over and above another. Doesn’t pass the smell test? That, too.

While we now find ourselves sitting under the Tree of Knowledge, we happened upon earlier on our walk, we now become one with the tree and the rule. But. Only with Him. In our hearts and minds.

Knowingly committed to bringing up our frenemies and enemies. At times. Doing unto them even if and when they do not do the same unto us. Generously giving of ourselves. Knowing, that with good intent, in our heart of hearts, we did everything that we could to do the right thing.

Then. So be it. And. So be it with the revenge seekers. They will have to have their field day with someone else, somewhere else.

While contemplating good and evil, under the tree, we learned what He meant about sharing the best of ourselves with one another.

”The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”:(Genesis 3:22). God realized that, by having eaten from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, Adam had become like one of the gods (“become as one of us”), except that he was not immortal like the gods.

Commitment to Him and our important priorities guide us.

Revenge only takes us back to the way it was before.

Cold.

Or.

Hot.

”The end will restore what was broken in the beginning.” (psp)