Last week a Christian brother was martyred in America. It was a planned assassination. News and social media lit up with shock, grief, joy, and anger, a huge variety of reactions to this brutal death. I asked myself how Jesus would react.
HOW WOULD JESUS REACT?
The Bible tells us and shows us exactly how He would respond. Jesus taught, “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… If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors (pagans) doing that?” (Matt 5:43-46) Earlier in the same chapter, Jesus says anger and contempt are equal to murder (Matt. 5:21-22). So, if hate, anger, and regarding others with contempt are not how He wants us to relate to people who disagree with or persecute us, how should we react?
Jesus repeatedly demonstrated the Kingdom way to those who oppose Truth. He did not just teach “love your enemy”, He lived it. The Roman cross was the most brutal form of execution of its day. As he was dying on the cross, Jesus’ heart was filled with compassion. Instead of spewing hate at those torturing Him, He prayed for the people who were directly responsible for his death (Luke 23:34).
WORDS NOT IN HIS VOCABULARY
The crowd hurling insults and encouraging His execution were not led by the Holy Spirit, but by the Enemy. Blind to Truth, they could not behave as believers. They were lost and spiritually dead. This filled Jesus with sadness and compassion for His enemies. Hate was not in Jesus’ vocabulary.
HOW DO WE HONOR GOD?
If we are truly followers of Jesus, the words that come out of our mouths (and the words that we post) will match His. The world is watching how the Church relates to those who deny Christ. Our neighbors and coworkers are watching how we handle interactions with people who oppose us. How do we react to events like last week’s shooting? Are we honoring God and sounding like Jesus? We will be required to give an account for every word we utter (Matt 12:36).
AN ASSASSIN’S BULLET IS NOT NEW
The purpose of that assassin’s bullet is not new to this time or place. Opposition, persecution and death have been part of God’s people’s lives from the earliest days. Today more than 350,000,000 Christians follow Jesus in parts of the world where voicing their beliefs puts their lives daily in jeopardy.
Still, Jesus tells us in I Peter 3:15-16, “In your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” We are called not to hate. God requires us to have compassion for those who are lost and pray for them. We are even required to pray for the salvation of the assassin of Charlie Kirk. As well, we are required to pray for the people celebrating his death. Prayers like this separate religious people from Christ followers. How will you choose to respond?