In his book The Irresistible Revolution, Shane Claiborne talks about his mission trip to iraq, why he went, and what he learned.
“Essentially, I went to Iraq because I believe in a God of scandalous grace. I have pledged allegiance to a king who loved evildoers so much he died for them, teaching us that there is something worth dying for, but nothing worth killing for.
I went to Iraq in the footsteps of an executed and risen God. The Jesus of the margins suffered an imperil execution by an oppressive regime of wealthy and pious elites. And now he dares me and woos me to come and follow, to take up my cross, to lose my life to find it, with the promises that life is more powerful than death and that it is more courageous to love our enemies than to kill them.
… I went to die for people I do not know because of a spiritual allegiance… as a missionary. In an age of omnipresent war, it is my hope that Christian peacemaking becomes the new face of global missions. May we stand by those who face the impending wrath of the empire and whisper, “God loves you, I love you, and if my country bombs your country, I will be right here with you.” Otherwise, our gospel has little integrity. As one of the saints said, “If they come for the innocent and do not pass over our bodies, then cursed be our religion.”
He later goes on to say…
“The more vigorously we try to root out evil by force, the more evil will escalate. For every Muslim extremism killed, is another created. Likewise, the more passionately we love our enemies, the more evil will diminish. This is also the story of the martyrs – for every Christian killed at the hands of evil, another would rise up, converted by their faithful self – sacrificial love.
“…..Maybe rather than separating ourselves from everyone we consider impure, maybe we are better off just beating our chests and praying that God would be merciful enough to save us from this present ugliness, and to make our lives so beautiful that people cannot resist that mercy.”
I bring this to your attention for one reason: I sat silently in my room last night, weeping with Jesus. Praying for those whose pride manifested in hate. I was very upset, but one thing was very clear to me: my alliance is to a heavenly kingdom; not to a nation. My hope is in a risen king.
A king who will give us the courage to hold hands with our enemies and to weep for those who do not know Him. Who will give us the courage to die so another can have the chance to really live.
So I come here to kindly remind you that we are ALL in need of grace,
His love is strong
and we don't get to hate people.
