Al Qaeda and the Kingdom of God

The other day I read an article which said that an Al Qaeda spokesperson had come forward saying that Americans should expect more attacks; in fact, an attack so horrendous, it would make us forget about 9/11. Let me just get honest. Anger flooded me. I cursed Al Qaeda over and over in my head and heart. F#&% them!” I thought to myself.

Then I remembered our Lord’s words, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” What?!?! How am I, a broken, angry, sinful person supposed to do that? Loving the people of Al Qaeda feels downright impossible. But if I am to be obedient to Jesus, who prayed, “Father forgive them…” for His enemies, I must. A friend of mine pointed out that it soon becomes impossible to hate someone whom you are constantly praying for. Love is the fruit of God injecting His forgiveness and mercy into us. I cannot love fundamentalist terrorists on my own; but God can, and if I will pray for them and seek Him, by His grace I will be enabled and empowered to love my enemies.

The solution is not to nuke some country or some political hotspot. The solution is not to hunt down and slit the throats of all terrorists everywhere. As long as we live in a fallen world, there will always be terrorists, there will always be wars, and there will always be sin. The real battle is not the “War On Terror.” The real battle is the battle for the kingdom of God.

In Dallas Willard’s book, The Divine Conspiracy, he comments on the kingdom:

“Now God’s own ‘kingdom’ or ‘rule,’ is the range of his effective will, where what he wants done is done. The person of God himself and the action of his will are the organizing principles of his kingdom, but everything that obeys those principles…is within his kingdom…So when Jesus directs us to pray, ‘Thy kingdom come,’ he does not mean we should pray for it to come into existence. Rather, we pray for it to take over at all points in the personal, social, and political order where it is now excluded: ‘On earth as it is in heaven.’”

Our limited point of view, based on our experiential (yet finite) knowledge of time, history, existence, society, and God cannot perceive with absolute clarity the rightness, justness, and goodness of God in the face of events like 9/11. Let me show you what I mean. Solomon, the wisest man to ever live bemoaned the futility of life in Ecclesiastes.

“There is futility which is done on the earth, that is, there are righteous men to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked. On the other hand, there are evil men to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I say that this too is futility… It is the same for all. There is one fate for the righteous and for the wicked… This is an evil that is done under the sun, that there is one fate for all men. Furthermore, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards they go to the dead.” - Ecclesiastes 8:14, 9:2, 3

Solomon perceived that life can be a very frustrating, confusing, and seemingly futile experience. Certainly, if life “under the sun” is all there is to life, it does seem to be a cosmic joke; an ironic, meaningless little blip on the screen of the history of the universe. But though we may live in a broken and fallen world full of broken and fallen people, and though life “under the sun” may be unfair and unjust, God’s kingdom is stealthily infiltrating the lives and habitats of those who will seek Him.

What we see on the news will most likely not aid us in realizing this. Believing that there is a good and just God on the throne and that He is even now establishing His rule amongst us requires faith – “the assurance of things hoped for.” By faith we believe that God is not powerless or heartless or aloof, but a “Rewarder of those who seek Him…abundant in loving-kindness to all who call on Him…good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him.” Its true King will one day flip this crazy, war-ridden world on its head. The lion will lie down with the lamb, Israelis will embrace Arabs, terror will be no more, and peace will reign forever.

But until that day, this is our battle: the battle for the kingdom. If I want peace and justice in this world, I start with myself, by submitting to God’s rule in my own life, my own struggles. I allow Him to conquer my anger and fear. I allow His kingdom to invade my life, my heart. I begin to pray for my enemies. I begin to love them. And slowly but surely, God answers my prayer, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done. On earth as it is in heaven.”