Pray For Those Who Persecute

As ISIS makes the headlines and splashes their gruesome images across our media platforms for all the world to see, it's nearly impossible for me to think of THEM...

...as people.

I see a human form, garbed in black, doing evil, evil things. But I don't see then as a human. I see a monster.

And yet. They are people.

They are people. People who desire to know something bigger than themselves. Don't we all?

But.

They have chosen the wrong big thing.

When people are so sold out to the Evil One, in my mind, I write them off from receiving the grace of God. But that's the thing. No one is too far to be brought to the Lord. No. One.

In Matthew 5-7, Jesus re-introduces the heart of the Law of God. Anyone who hates his brother is guilty of murder. It's about the heart. Just because I've never physically killed anyone doesn't mean I've never murdered according to God's standard. No one is too far to be made new.

These men (and occasional women) are people who need Jesus.

Pray for those who persecute you.

**This is a great blog post on the Church's response to ISIS. You should read it. Now.**

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