Admit it. In the face of contemporary moral decline and agenda driven news, this thought has crossed your mind:
“A little fire from heaven about now would make believers out of these people!”
Well, you probably haven’t, but I admit I have. I’m not proud of it, but there was just something about the rejection of truth that was frustrating me…and then it happened.
While reading scripture the other day, I suddenly saw myself right in the middle of Luke 9:54-56. Ouch! Without realizing it, a self-righteousness attitude has caused me to see some national leaders as the enemy and not as Jesus sees them. Take a look at the Luke passage:
52…And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. 53But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. 54And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, £just as Elijah did?” 55But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. 56£For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village. – Luke 9:51-56 NKJV
The disciples saw the village’s rejection of Christ as a reason for destruction, but Jesus firmly corrected their mistake. I doubt they ever asked that question again!
It’s so easy to forget who our real enemy is. It’s not the ones peddling wrong ideas or philosophy; it’s the one who’s behind them. It’s not lost people, it’s the devil. Yes, devastating consequences do come from rejecting Christ, but that should fuel my prayers all the more on their behalf.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve had to pause and ask for forgiveness. The next time you hear or read someone speaking against our Lord’s teaching, remember, “He didn’t come to destroy men’s lives, He came to save.”
Pray for them…you may be the only one who does. Who knows, it may even lead to a chance to share the “reason for the hope that is in you.” (I Peter 3:15)
cchrisholland 