As perhaps nothing else, unjust suffering exposes the heart. In recent days we have witnessed this maxim in unprecedented ways.

On September 11, terrorist acts submerged our unsuspecting nation into a cauldron of shocked disbelief, bitter anguish, seething anger, and gnawing uncertainty. These acts also wrenched open a window into America's soul that had been painted shut for a long time. Passions of patriotic zeal, life-sacrificing courage, and fraternal compassion-all of which typically flow undetected below the surface of the American spirit-were suddenly exposed to plain view.

This exposing of America's heart will certainly continue into the future, and not always with satisfying results. Our suffering has already exposed (again) individuals in our society who display an infantile inability to distinguish criminals from law-abiding citizens within the strictures of any racial or religious group other than their own.

But perhaps the most poignant revelation of the heart will be witnessed in our response to those who are responsible for, and rejoice in, our suffering. Divine counsel prepares us for this test along two distinct lines. The first is addressed to God's people, the second to our government.

God's People. Jesus did not mince words concerning how his followers must respond to their enemies: "You have heard it said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, but I tell you not to oppose evil . . . You have heard it said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you 'Love your enemies . . .'" (Matthew 5:38-44).

The apostle Paul wrote: "Return to no one evil for evil . . . do not avenge yourselves . . . for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay,' says the Lord. . . . Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good" (see Romans 12:14-21).

Some argue from these passages that the only legitimate response to unjust suffering is to "forgive and forget." But it is vital to recognize that not exercising vengeance and granting forgiveness are separate matters.

God is just. He does not merely overlook sin, he judges it-all of it. God is also forgiving, but because he is just, his forgiveness of sin is granted only after the exact requirements of his uncompromising and holy justice are fully met.

God met the requirements of his just wrath against evil by sacrificing Jesus Christ in the sinner's stead. It is on the basis of this act that divine forgiveness is granted, not arbitrarily to anyone, but specifically to sinners who repent of their wrongdoing and embrace God's gift of forgiveness (Romans 3:21,25-26; 4:5; Acts 2:38).

To forgive, then, is not to arbitrarily excuse wrongdoers. Forgiveness must follow both justice and repentance.

Accordingly, Jesus did not instruct us to forgive our enemies. He called us to love them. If repentance is forthcoming, forgiveness must be granted (Luke 17:3-4). But in any event, love is the appropriate response to injustice.

How do we love people who commend acts of unspeakable horror-who deceive and murder with cavalier indifference? We do not "forgive and forget." Rather, we die for them-we sacrifice our lives in the interest of the proclamation of forgiveness in Jesus.

We fly to other lands to aid missionaries knowing there is a price on our head as we travel. We let our children and grandchildren go overseas to proclaim the gospel in hostile lands. We lay down money, release time, and lift prayers, in support of this mission of love.

Government. God's ordaining plan does not end with the decree that his people love their enemies. After admonishing his readers not to take vengeance against their enemies, Paul writes: "Let every soul submit to the governing authorities, for there is no [governing] authority except that which God has established, and the authorities that exist are ordained by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authority is rebelling against the ordinance of God and the ones doing so will receive judgment . . . For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but . . . if you do evil, be afraid; for he [authority] does not bear the sword in vain, for he is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer" (Romans 13:1-4; see also 1 Peter 2:13-14).

Governments who seek out and punish terrorists are acting, whether they acknowledge it or not, as God's agents to curb evil. God knows, as every civilization has been forced to acknowledge, that evil cannot be ignored. It must be physically restrained.

Armed with an attitude of love for our enemies, we must never rejoice with glee if our armies begin killing people. But our nation has a God-ordained, moral obligation to avenge the blood of those who died at the hands of terrorists. She has an obligation "to bring punishment on the wrongdoer."

This is not a lovely undertaking. But this is not always a lovely world. And we must have the moral resolve to act as God's agent or the lunatics will soon rule the asylum.

What will suffering reveal about our heart? God's people must have the resolve to go into hostile lands and lay down their lives in the dissemination of the gospel. Our soldiers must have the resolve to go to hostile lands and lay down their lives in the cause of freedom and justice. And those who remain behind must send them willingly, support them diligently, and pray passionately for their success, to the glory of a God of both infinite love and unmitigated justice.