You Mean ...God Loves Terrorists Too?

"And they sang a new song: 'You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because You were slain, and with Your blood, You purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.'" Revelation 5:9

Since the terrible days of Sept. 11, 2001, the term "terrorist" has taken on important meaning since that act of violence took place on American soil. Terrorism now makes the headlines almost daily, and it has been doing so for some time.

So, let us define a "terrorist." From Wikpedia, we get a formal definition derived from the United Nations general assembly. They describe acts of terrorism as such:

"Criminal acts intended or calculated to provoke a state of terror in the general public, a group of persons or particular persons for political purposes are in any circumstances unjustifiable, whatever the considerations of a political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or any other nature that may be invoked to justify them."

Synonyms for terrorism include -- random acts of violence, intimidation, kidnapping & perhaps unjustifiable and unreasonable imprisonment

Terrorism deliberately sows the seeds of confusion and fears among those targeted for terror. It is prejudicial at its root and motivated by selfish pride through domination and intimidation.

But terrorism has been around for eons. It is not something new. Let's consider the following individual and what you would consider him to be:

This man was highly educated. In fact, he sat under the most renowned religious teachers of his day. He not only knew and understood the tiniest of details of his religion, but he practiced them flawlessly. Virtually no one was more religious than he. His pedigree was close to perfection. And to those who no longer believed what he truly believed about religion he sought to destroy through random acts of violence, intimidation and kidnapping. He even travelled from home to home to drag off the prisoners of his choice. He moved with stealth and authority to terrorize. His goal was destruction and elimination, and he performed his duties with a zeal seldom seen in others. He successfully wrought fear among those he targeted. And he fully believed that he was doing all of this for God. Underneath it all, was a self righteous pride cloaked in the garbs of religious practice.

Who was this man? His name was Saul of Tarsus. By any definition, he was a terrorist! Before he met Christ on the road to Damascus, that is what he was! In the same way that Muslim zealots seek to destroy Jews, Chrisians, Americans and any others they deem to be infidels, Paul, the Jewish zealot sought to annhilate the early Christian church (see Acts 7:59 - 8:3; Acts 9:1-2 & 13-4; Acts 22:1-5; Acts 26:4-11; Galatians 1:13-14; Philippians 3:4-6). Paul even sought to get believers in Christ to blaspheme in the same way that some radical Muslims continue to do with former Islamic practioners who have come to Christ for salvation (Acts 26:11). Prior to becoming the Apostle Paul, Saul was a terrorist!

We know for certain that God loves people. That is the primary motivating principle behind Jesus' coming in to this world. In love, He came to save people from their sins and to deliver them from certain separation from God and His wrath by granting forgiveness through His shed blood. We could find other reasons for the Lord's saving of souls, but one reason I believe we sometimes forget is this: the redeeming qualities of a given person. What do I mean by that? Take the pre-Christian Paul for instance. He was highly educated and probably spoke more than one language. Though his zeal was misguided, he was very zealous for what he believed in and who he believed God to be. In short, there was great potential for his being a world wide missionary, church planter, evangelist and staunch defender of the cause of Christ. That sounds like an ideal apostle! And that is what he became! The vast majority of New Testament writings and the founding of many first century churches could be directly attributable to the heavenly Father using the Apostle from Tarsus as His chosen instrument. God saw Saul's amazing potential -- and He saved Him!

In Texas, it is obvious that the Muslim religion has arrived. You can travel through various metro areas and see mosques, shop and dine with Muslim men and women and notice a few billboards advertising Islam to the masses. Many local gas stations and convenience stores are owned and/or operated by Muslims. There is even a proposal for a Muslim slaughterhouse to be built in Texas that would come complete with an Islamic prayer room for the employees slaughtering animals who handle the process according to the stringent Sharia laws of Islam.

As I have pondered all of these things, I have developed a major burden -- for both Muslims and professing Christians. I pray for Muslims, because they follow a false god, are slaves to religious practice and need salvation. And I am very concerned for professing believers too. Why? Because some professing believers seem to harbor much anger, bitterness and animosity toward Muslims and the prospect of living amongst Islamic people. Other professing believers seem to be oblivious to what is beginning to happen all around them. They are blind. A number wrongly feel that every Muslim is a terrorist, so they are bound by unwholesome fears. Some even present an attitude that God either could not or would not save a Muslim man or woman.

Do we believe the verse at the beginning of this paper in Revelation 5:9? Clearly, there will be people from all over the world -- every tribe, every language, etc. in heaven who came to Christ for salvation. And yes, surely there are former Muslims among that throng in heaven!

Read the following:

"For nothing is impossible with God." Luke 1:37

"Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear." Isaiah 59:1

"God ... Who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." I Timothy 2:4

Do we believe these verses? Are we willing to love all people on this earth -- even a terrorist -- no matter his cause? Can we, as genuine Christians, love them enough to pray for their salvation and open our mouths to tell them about our beloved Jesus? Can we look beyond the "present" in someone's life and see the "future" they can have in Jesus --those redemptive qualities that can glorify the Kingdom as God did with Paul?

God has saved at least one terrorist already! He did it through a divine vision, and He is doing it again today all over the Muslim world! Why can't it happen even here in the good old USA? The question is: Do we believe it, and do we have enough love in our hearts to speak up in order to see it happen?

The religious landscape is changing before our eyes right now in our nation. The truth is: It's coming to America! In fact, it's already here!

It's time to heed Paul's words in Ephesians 5:14 -- "Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you."

It is getting late, and it is getting serious!