The Mother of All Terrorists

One unexpected result of the foiled Christmas Day bombing attack for me was genuinely missing Tom Ridge and Michael Chertoff! I mean, does our current Homeland Security Director, Janet Napolitano, instill more or less confidence in you regarding the defense of American lives against acts of terror? She seems well "in over her head!" Niether her statements nor her image tend to project the kind of "security" one might expect from this post.

My point is not to blast our Homeland Security Director. My disappointment with her did catch me by surprise, but it led me to much deeper reflection on our "security." For those who follow Jesus Christ, today's Muslim extremist is just one in a long line of "terrorists" we've faced through the years. Some of our Christian brothers and sisters live in daily terror of their own state governments, which censor their persecution of the saints. Such "terrorists" have always been around, unknowingly taking their cues from the Master Terrorist.

The Bible describes the Mother of all Terrorists like this, "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). That is the reality of our lives, fellow believers! We have an enemy who seeks to destroy us...on a daily basis. But rather than living in fear of this Terrorist, with all of his minions and ploys, how should we live?

God says we should live "self-controlled and alert" lives. There is no need to panic as we head into yet another year of war on terror. We keep our lives under control. The call to be alert would remain whether or not radical Muslim terrorists were out there. As believers we know that the most cunning Terrorist of all still exists, so we stay alert to his weapons and wiles. The hero on the Northwest flight to Detroit from Amsterdam was a man named Jasper Schuringa. When Jasper saw the terrorist setting fire to his explosive, he alertly responded and subdued him. That kind of keen awareness should characterize our lives as Christians.

Peter goes on to write in the following verse, "Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of suffering. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen." (1 Peter 5:9-11)

In 2010 we will undoubtedly face more acts of terror. But in Christ we are fit with courage to "resist" the enemy; with the joy that comes from real "faith;" with the love that compels us to support our "brothers throughout the world undergoing the same kind of suffering;" and with the hope of "eternal glory in Christ" that sustains us.

So, really, who needs Janet when you've got Jesus?