Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man,
I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.
1 Timothy 1:13
It has become one of the defining words of our day. Since the events of September 11, 2001, the word terrorism has been constantly on our minds. It has become a household word. Virtually every newscast has some kind of report on this menacing evil. As a result, consciously or subconsciously, the reality of terrorism hangs over America like a dark, threatening cloud that could unleash its destructive and disruptive fury upon us at any time.
We need to remind ourselves that the true and living God is in the business of transforming terrorists. Like the name of Osama bin Laden, this man’s very name struck panic in the hearts of those whom he sought to eliminate. His name was Saul.
In Acts chapter 9, God transformed this terrorist on the Damascus Road. He changed Saul of Tarsus into Paul the Apostle. To any rational person, this radical transformation of Saul to Paul is explicable only as a direct divine intervention of the true and living God. As a result of his radical conversion, the blasphemer became the believer, the persecutor became the preacher, the accuser became the apologist, the terrorist became the teacher, the antagonist became the apostle, and the murderer became the missionary.
In God’s sight, a radical is a radical. If God can convert a Jewish radical, He can just as easily convert an Islamic, Hindu, or Buddhist radical. If He can transform a Jewish fundamentalist into a Christian apologist, He can do the same for the fundamentalists of our day, which He is doing in many countries around the world.
Today, some of the most bold and fearless preachers of the Gospel in Islamic countries are converted mullahs and Qur’anic scholars to whom Jesus supernaturally appeared in a dream or vision, just like He did to Paul on the Damascus Road! We must also pray that God will raise up more bold Christian disciples like Ananias (Acts 9:1–19) who will put it all on the line in forceful faith and radical love to reach out to the terrorists in our world.
As believers, we need to pray and work for this because radical enemies make radical friends! Converted terrorists make radical Christians! That’s because they already understand radical commitment. They already have vision and passion—although misguided. They are already zealous. They are already turned on and on fire. They already understand what it means to be sold out for a cause. They understand the cost of discipleship. When necessary, they are prepared to be persecuted for their faith and even die a martyr’s death for their faith.
So may God motivate and empower each of us to be radical Christians for the Kingdom of God! Only then will we see God transform terrorists by the power of the Spirit and the Word. Only then will His Holy Spirit turn the Church back into a radical, transformational fellowship of Christian revolutionaries who will again turn our world upside down for God’s glory!