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virtue and industry. Christ came not to destroy the law--either that
revealed in the Word of God or that which was written on nature--He came
to fulfill. In the brief years that He taught His disciples and the
multitude He quoted the law and illustrated it. He did not come to
relieve men of responsibility--He came to light the way--"That they
might have life and that they might have it more abundantly."

Christ's doctrines are not limited in time or to numbers. They apply to
everybody and last for all time. Paul, in Romans 12: 20, interprets the
Master's teachings and applies them. "Therefore, if thine enemy hunger,
feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap
coals of fire on his head." How different this way of dealing from the
way the carnal man acts, and yet who can question the wisdom of the
Saviour's plan? Hatred begets hatred; retaliation invites retaliation
and the feud grows. The mountains of Kentucky have furnished numerous
illustrations of the futility of revenge. Families were arrayed against
families and sons took up inherited hatreds and died violent deaths
bequeathing the spirit of revenge to their descendants.

We see the same false philosophy at work among nations. One war lays the
foundation for another; generation after generation is sworn to avenge
the crimes of preceding generations; and much of it is done in the name
of patriotism and glorified as if it were service to the country.

Paul gives us the remedy and it is based upon the injunction that Jesus
gave, namely, Love your enemies. Feeding an enemy is more effective than
threats of punishment. It is a manifestation of love, and love is the
weapon for which there is no shield. The philosophy that Paul applies
to the individual is just as effective when applied to larger groups.
Nations that have been at war cannot be reconciled by the methods of
war. They can be suppressed by force but unless won by friendship there
can be no reunion.

Paul concludes this chapter with a command "Be not overcome of evil, but
overcome evil with good." There never was a time in the world's history
when this kind of doctrine was more imperatively needed for the healing
of the wounds of the unprecedented conflict through which the world has
passed. Christ has a remedy: Let the wrongs of the past be forgiven
and forgotten; let the world be invited to build on friendship and
cooperation. Let the rivalry be in the showing of magnanimity.