Doctor Dolittle, the fictional doctor who converses with animals, has delighted fans through books, movies, and plays. However, few people know that author Hugh Lofting first wrote the Dolittle tales to his children from the ghastly trenches of World War I. He later said that the war was too awful to recount in his letters—so he wrote and illustrated stories instead. These whimsical, joy-filled tales were Lofting’s way of pushing back against the war’s horror.
It’s inspiring to see a person moving against the menacing, degrading forces that seem too powerful to thwart. We admire this resilient courage because we fear that injustice, violence, and greed will triumph. Sometimes we fear that the whole world will be “overcome by evil” (Romans 12:21). And these fears are well-founded if we’re left to ourselves. However, God has not left us to ourselves. He fills us with His divine strength, places us in the action, and calls us to “overcome evil with good” (v. 21).
We each overcome evil with good in whatever ways God has put into our hearts. Some of us write beautiful stories. Some of us care for the poor. Some of us make our homes places of welcome. Some of us share God’s story through melody, poetry, or conversation. In a myriad of ways, we carry His goodness and peace into the world (v. 18), overcoming evil as we go.
Where do you see evil lurking? How can you be part of overcoming evil with good?
Dear God, please help me be part of overcoming evil with good.
Romans 12 is a marvelous treatise from the apostle Paul on how to live out Jesus’ challenge to be salt and light to this dark world (see Matthew 5:13-14). Through the lives of believers in Christ, the world has the opportunity to see God’s goodness and peace on display. Why? Because of the dramatic contrast goodness and peace provide to the evil and conflict around us. Paul’s words also give a powerful picture of how we’re to live out the gospel. Living out our faith isn’t optional—it’s inherent to being witnesses to the life-changing power of the gospel. What we believe must necessarily make a difference in how we live, and when we live out our faith through the power of the Spirit, we put the heart of God on display.
