When we first encounter evil our instinct is to battle against it and defeat it.
But if we do this we are not following Jesus.
In the garden when Jesus was arrested he told his disciples to put away their swords.
And when Pontius Pilate asked him if he was King of the Jews he said, "'My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom was from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.'" John 18:36 (NRSV)
So if we decide to battle against evil we are not worshipping Jesus we are worshipping the sword.
And Jesus rejected the sword on all occasions.
Jesus lays down the sword and prays for his enemies.
And we should do the same.
[Scripture quotations (marked NRSV) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission. All rights reserved.]
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