Jesus loves Muslims....and as Christians so should we. Please read what I am saying before you get angry or dismiss this. It's important. First, there are many groups trying to promote the idea of peace between these two religions preaching "love" and cooperation and compromise. They point out thar both religions have roots in Judaism and came from Abraham. They try to talk about how most Muslims respect the Bible and honor Jesus as a prophet. That's not what I am talking about. Jesus is not a prophet and never claimed to be. He is either the very Word of God that spoke all creation into existence and came to die that we might have life, or He is a liar and a mad man. Choose which you believe.
No, we should not love Muslims because of who or how they are, but rather because of who Christ is. Do they deserve it? No. And neither do I. And neither do you. Grace is not about what we deserve. That's why it's called grace. But they're beheading Christians! Yes, they are. But....no buts. Jesus said if we love Him we will be persecuted. He said they're going to condemn us, hate us and kill us. This shouldn't be surprising anyone. He also said you're blessed when you're persecuted, so maybe we should stop all this I'm offended and need to retaliate against people blessing us. He also said love your enemy and pray for those who despitefully use you. He also said Father forgive them as religious hypocrites, soldiers and the sins of me and you nailed Him to a cross and killed Him. We weren't merciful enough to take His head. We crucified Him. A much worse way to die. And if we had been there, we would have either yelled for His crucifixion or fled from His side or stood there and wept without stopping anything. I nailed Him there. So did you. With every act of rebellion and selfishness I became the enemy of God and destroyer of His Son as much as any member of ISIS.
While we were still the enemies of God, Christ died for us. He did not say "these sinners are offending me, so I'm going to offend them back." He didn't require us to change or repent before He showed love. While we spit on Him and cursed His name and screamed crucify with our selfishness He willingly went to the cross on our behalf. Oh, and by the way, He also did that for every member of ISIS and every Muslim that ever was, is or will be.
God died for Muslims. He wants relationship with them. He calls them to Himself. It breaks His heart when they remain enemies rather than be reconciled to Him. Jesus is walking the earth today spreading His message that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, that we can be reconciled to the Father, that there is a way to relationship with our Creator, and that the Lord of Heaven and Earth loves us all. Did you know that, that Jesus is doing that here and now? Well, He is. Look in a mirror. If you're a Christian you are looking at a hand or foot or mouth or.....something, a part of the body of Christ. This is not metaphorical. This is reality. We are called to be His light in the dark, His ambassador to the lost enemies of God, to love as He loved so that the world that needs Him knows how to find Him. Christ lives in us, and if the world is going to see Him, it has to be in our actions and reactions.
That means that Muslims see Jesus when a father says "I forgive you" to the radical that just killed his wife and children who would not deny Christ. In every act of love, forgiveness and grace they are shown they get a glimpse of the Living and Merciful God who loves them. What they do with that glimpse is their responsibility. But giving that glimpse is ours, yours and mine. Christians posting pictures on social media of bikini clad women eating bacon to return offense is not the way to show love. By the way neither is saying "you're OK as you are. Keep your Qua ran while I'll keep my Bible and we'll meet in the middle when we can." Love is saying "you are an enemy of God as I once was, but He loves you and so do I. Jesus died to set you free. I forgive your offenses and attacks, and I will pray that you find your way to Christ as I have. There you will find freedom, forgiveness, peace, joy, a life worth living, and love.....lots and lots of love.
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