God is calling me to post on the recent tragedies in Boston, and this is a post I do not want to write. Why am I fighting God on this, I asked myself, and as I thought about it, I determined that it is because I in no way want to belittle the struggles or grief of the victims, nor do I want to appear to be standing in judgment of any one's reaction to such horrific event, or appear to condone the actions of the perpetrators. That being said, I feel convicted to say this: that what I have seen on social media and elsewhere, even among fellow Christians, is the tendency to simplify our enemy, to let hatred make him faceless, to categorize him." F'in Muslims." And then you can shut the door on it, and forget that those type of generalizations are what enabled him and others like him to look in the face of potential victims, yet overlook them to an extent that you can blow their legs off without a backward glance.
I also don't want to write this post because it seems that by suggesting that we follow the bible on this, by pointing out that God calls us to pray for our enemy and love those who persecute us, that I am suggesting that this should be easy and natural, which is not what I am suggesting at all. I am suggesting that God loves this boy also, Jesus died for him, and if he should be lost, Jesus will grieve him, just as he would for you or I. I am suggesting that he is obviously broken, and it is not for us to deny him a chance at redemption and say in our minds, "your sins are too great for mercy." Certainly his sins are more overt and obvious to others than my own, but I am sure glad that no one can look in my heart and say that to me. Some will be angry at me for saying these things, because we are more vulnerable when robbed of our hate, but I feel that if I allow these events to drive me to hatred, then Satan will have two victories instead of just one.
Easy for me to say, you say, because it was not my child killed, or myself with no legs, and that's true, but it is not only out of sympathy for the bomber that God asks us to pray for him, but also for ourselves. Though I can not pretend to be in the shoes of those directly affected by this tragedy, praying for ones enemy is not new to me. My uncle was shot and killed by a Muslim extremist, and it has been my observation within my own family, that those who have wrestled with God on this, and struggled to forgive and pray for the man who did this, have experienced grief, growth, and some degree of healing, whereas those who refuse to do so carry a much heavier burden.
But he smirked as he set a bomb down next to a little boy! Yes, he did. He clearly needs a savior, and what would God say to me on the day of judgment if I was, say, a caregiver in the hospital treating him, and as a member of the body of Christ I chose to judge and turn my back instead of offering kindness and prayer, and I missed my chance, maybe his only one, to show Jesus to this boy, because of hatred in my heart. Am I any better off than he? My sins are private, but if I had no savior, I would be no less dead in my sin. Am I better off than he? That I can refuse to do what God requires and pray for my enemy. God knows he asks us to do things that are difficult, He will help us when we struggle, but it is when we refuse, and we willfully choose to live in hate, that I worry about us. My sins are many, and I often fall guilty of a judgmental heart, but the one who has the authority to judge has chosen to extend mercy, though for Him also that road led through pain. I pray for us the ability to do as he does, for all of our enemies, and for ourselves.
