Have you adopted a terrorist yet?

This is brilliant. Pure Kingdom-of-God. (Thanks to Lynnae for the tip)

Jesus stated, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” So some wonderful Christ-followers are taking this command seriously. ADOPT A TERRORIST FOR PRAYER. Pick an FBI-listed terrorist, and pray for them daily.

Why? The Christian response to violence is love, grace, and mercy. Not violence, war, or hate.

For those not accustomed to viewing Christianity as a religion upholding non-violence, consider this very clear statement from the New Testament: "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds" (2 Cor 10:3-4).

A Christian nationalist at this point might be planning to pray for a terrorist in a different sort of way--praying that "our"*** literal soldiers would be successful in killing all of them. Instead of praying nationalistic prayers, Christians should be praying prayers of blessing upon our enemies. In Luke 6:28, Jesus says to pray for those who mistreat us, and he also says "bless those who mistreat you." We must pray that God shower his blessings of love and truth upon terrorists, that in experiencing our kindness they would experience the kindness of Jesus.

If Christians are not known for loving their enemies, then there is no reason to have Christianity. If through our action we give the world a picture of God that portrays God as hateful and unforgiving then churches might as well shut the doors.

The reason I get up in the morning as a Christian is to show the world what God is like. God is love. Jesus commands us to love our enemies. This is the most beautiful worldview imaginable. It is at the heart of the very identity of Jesus' message.

----------------------------------------------------
***The Church does not have soldiers.