A Counterintuitive Concern
Imagine walking through a crowded middle eastern bazaar. The aroma of spice lays heavy in the sand laden breeze. It's chaos as usual as the narrow streets bustle with people. Off in the distance there are shouts. You squint through the sun to see a group of men emerge from a dusty courier van. Kalashnikovs in hand, they dive into a narrow alley and enter a small building known to be a house of worship for a small group of Christians in the area. You can make out five armed men, each now emerging from the alley dragging both men and women by the hair into the street. They begin shouting "submit to Allah!" No longer curious, the streets empty as you yourself shrink behind a fruit stand. Despite your horror, you continue watching. One individual refuses to recant and is shot point blank in the street. As the blood stains the earth, you begin to pray...
Who do you pray for?
The obvious choice is for those being persecuted. Your heart goes out to those innocent souls being slaughtered. If you have any sense of justice, it ought to be this way.
But here is where the mind of Christ strays from conventional wisdom. Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount,
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
-Matthew 5:43-48
Love your enemies? Pray for those who persecute you? Now imagine, each of the hostages refused to recant, seven in total. Their blood now mingled with the fruit and spice of the bazaar. You are mortified. You want to cry, but even your tears are paralyzed in fear. You remember, Jesus' words and you slowly begin to mobilize your feeble knees. You arise from the fruit stand and take a piece of fruit. Warily, you carry it silently to to the terrorists and place it in one of their bloody hands. That's the mind of Christ.
His love is so absolutely outside of our natural reasoning. Without His Spirit indwelling us, it's absolutely impossible to live out. But by His life living through us, we see that those slain in the street are in no real danger. They are in peace with Christ. Those truly in danger are those facing the imminent flames of an eternal hell. Perhaps tomorrow they may strap on a suicide vest and usher themselves into the kingdom of darkness. So Christ commands us to pray today.
This verse slapped me in the face this morning. I realized that I have never once prayed for someone who persecutes. Perhaps you're like me and the only thing you desire is to see justice served. Why not drop another MOAB? In fairness, they earned it... But, their eternal destiny is at stake, and Christ sees past the atrocity, and for those who have not become eternally reprobate, there is even hope in forgiveness for them. So will you pray today for one who persecutes? Maybe it's a terrorist. Maybe it's a torturous guard in a North Korean prison. Maybe its a gang member down the road... Surely, there are individuals caught up in their treachery who are aware of the wrong they are inflicting on others. They too seek redemption for their own souls. Will you pray that the gospel of Jesus Christ transforms their heart and their movement to follow truth and righteousness? Will you allow the mind of Christ to transform your anxious heart to a heart of peace that sees past the temporal and into the everlasting? It begins with a choice and it's yours...
Who do you pray for?
The obvious choice is for those being persecuted. Your heart goes out to those innocent souls being slaughtered. If you have any sense of justice, it ought to be this way.
But here is where the mind of Christ strays from conventional wisdom. Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount,
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
-Matthew 5:43-48
Love your enemies? Pray for those who persecute you? Now imagine, each of the hostages refused to recant, seven in total. Their blood now mingled with the fruit and spice of the bazaar. You are mortified. You want to cry, but even your tears are paralyzed in fear. You remember, Jesus' words and you slowly begin to mobilize your feeble knees. You arise from the fruit stand and take a piece of fruit. Warily, you carry it silently to to the terrorists and place it in one of their bloody hands. That's the mind of Christ.
His love is so absolutely outside of our natural reasoning. Without His Spirit indwelling us, it's absolutely impossible to live out. But by His life living through us, we see that those slain in the street are in no real danger. They are in peace with Christ. Those truly in danger are those facing the imminent flames of an eternal hell. Perhaps tomorrow they may strap on a suicide vest and usher themselves into the kingdom of darkness. So Christ commands us to pray today.
This verse slapped me in the face this morning. I realized that I have never once prayed for someone who persecutes. Perhaps you're like me and the only thing you desire is to see justice served. Why not drop another MOAB? In fairness, they earned it... But, their eternal destiny is at stake, and Christ sees past the atrocity, and for those who have not become eternally reprobate, there is even hope in forgiveness for them. So will you pray today for one who persecutes? Maybe it's a terrorist. Maybe it's a torturous guard in a North Korean prison. Maybe its a gang member down the road... Surely, there are individuals caught up in their treachery who are aware of the wrong they are inflicting on others. They too seek redemption for their own souls. Will you pray that the gospel of Jesus Christ transforms their heart and their movement to follow truth and righteousness? Will you allow the mind of Christ to transform your anxious heart to a heart of peace that sees past the temporal and into the everlasting? It begins with a choice and it's yours...
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