Vengeance

2 Thessalonians 1:5-10
(5) This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering--
(6) since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you,
(7) and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels
(8) in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
(9) They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,
(10) when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.

This is one of those passages that reminds me how God's timeline is not always the same as mine. If someone wrongs me I want to see instant payback. I want to have the sense that God is right there ready to smite them for what they've done.

However, this passage shows us that it doesn't necessarily work like that. If we are in Christ we will eventually experience relief from our affliction, but it may not be until we die. We may not see the recompense for our enemies' sin, but it will happen when they die. A day of judgment is definitely coming. Are you ready for it?