Rooting For Rivals: Pursuing A Higher MissionSample

Vengeance vs. grace

Joe Baker founded Save the Storks in 2011 to give women considering abortion a chance to make a life-affirming choice for their babies and themselves. Their approach is unconventional, parking sonogram buses in neighborhoods with high rates of unplanned pregnancies. They counsel pregnant mothers and let women see their babies, often for the first time. 

Like many Christians, their staff are passionate about the issue of abortion. They have dedicated their lives to saving lives, and although they see abortion as an injustice for prospective mothers and unborn babies alike, you won’t catch them holding accusatory protest signs or threatening doctors. Instead you just might find them delivering donuts to abortion clinic staff as a simple act of love. As a result, one doctor in Florida recently shared that although he disagrees with them on the issue of abortion, he was referring patients to Save the Storks if they changed their mind. Where Christians have often responded with vengeance, Save the Storks responded with grace, furthering their impact as a result.  

There are injustices in this world that break God’s heart, and as His followers, it is only fitting that these abuses anger us. “Anger is always an outgrowth of love,” explains Pastor Tim Keller. “You get angry to the degree you love something.” Too often, however, our righteous anger spills over into something less righteous: vengeance. Instead of addressing the injustice, we become angry with those who challenge our perspective, picking fights with those we deem wrong. 

The example of Save the Storks challenges us to practice grace: serving our neighbors, even those we find undeserving, with outrageously generous love and tenderness. We can extend grace to those with whom we hold deep disagreements without wavering in our own commitments. It even empowers us to explore creative partnerships with those we might see as our rivals. As we do, the Kingdom advances—including in our own hearts. 

To fight the vice of vengeance:

1. Extend an olive branch. Initiate dialogue to better understand a rival’s position or seek common ground.
2. Refuse to compromise on the essentials, but be gracious in listening to and learning from others.
3. Seek to practice the same grace you have received.