God-Honoring

I've notice that when a representative of Islam, the religion of peace, is about to sever the head from a defenseless, innocent victim he has hog-tied and kneeling on the ground before him, he raises his knife and then raises his voice saying, "allahu akbar!" which is Arabic for "God is great!"  In the name of his god, who is great and calls them to peace, he then cuts the victim's head off.

They do this when they are about to set off a bomb that will kill old men and women, little boys and girls, the more innocent victims, the better.  But not to worry, they will be kneeling on their prayer rugs five times a day and they will refrain from eating pork so that they are divinely covered as they destroy a Christtian community, rape and kill their women and sell the little girls as sex slaves or perhaps violate them personally.

And, the really good news for them is that while they are committing all these atrocities, should one of them get killed in the process, they are assured that allah will reward them with a paradise including 72 virgins so that they can continue using and violating women for eternity.  Really?

While I find these blood-thirsty, child-molesting predators vile and disgusting, what sends me into orbit sometimes is the notion advanced by so many in this country, such as Hillary Clinton, who just recently said we need to try to understand them and their ideology so we can show them respect and find common ground.  Really?  Not!  We don't need to learn to appreciate evil or give ground to an enemy who ideology includes destroying us or forcibly converting us.

Instead, we need to help them understand that we will not permit them to go unchecked, spreading their ideology of death and perversion.  This will mean ongoing and increased military response from our government but not an ongoing and increased response from individual Christians.  Our Lord calls us instead to "love our enemies and pray for thsoe who persecute us" (Matt 5:44).

The Islamists are not God-honoring in their hate-filled ways but we cannot be God-honoring if we are filled with hate for them.  Just as the Islamists dishonor God by bowing down on prayer rugs and raising up blood-stained hands, we dishonor God when we come before Him in worship with hate-filled hearts; for God declares, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice..." (Hos 6:6).

I know it is difficult for us to ask God to forgive them and moreover to saved them, but this is exacttly what Jesus modeled from the cross when he said, "Father forgive them..." (Lk 223:34).  I'm not suggesting it is easy, I am suggesting it is God-honoring.  Jus' Sayn.