In our love for God we want our hearts and souls, others’ hearts and souls, and all of Creation to be pure and holy, entirely and completely restored and made whole.

The prophet is God’s mouthpiece, one who speaks the truth of God in the power and authority of God.  I believe the spiritual gift of prophecy is alive in the world today and that, if God calls for purity, we ought to be ruthless in rooting out EVERY impurity our eyes fall upon. We want to see every imperfection washed away in the flood of His mercy.

But any word from God that condones or advocates for murder is not a word from God.

The love of God, while it compels us to work for God and to drive out impurity, is not a license for violence. There are limits to what we can and should do. These limits are defined by love (by which I don’t mean sentimentality, or a false understanding of tolerance, which are love’s counterfeits in today’s culture).

No one is more passionate about rooting sin and evil out of the world than Jesus. But NOT EVEN JESUS went through the world with a sword (or a bomb or an automatic weapon) to root out evil from the world.

Jesus knew that wiping out people would do nothing to wipe out sin. The only weapon that will accomplish that is the Cross of Jesus.

Every man, woman and child possesses a sure and certain dignity, a dignity that is conferred upon them by their Creator, whose image they bear.

Love–and dignity–means we allow people to choose purity, beauty and goodness OR NOT. Allowing people to choose otherwise is tolerance (not accepting their choices as legitimate, or believing that everybody is right and nobody is wrong). By all means, root out every form of sin, evil and corruption you find, but start with your own heart.

And in your passion remember that you have no right to violate the dignity of another image bearer. You have no right to purge another of his or her sin–none.  Go ahead and encourage, exhort, rebuke, cajole, and challenge to your heart’s content (just like Jesus did), but know that you do not have God’s sanction to purge anyone else’s soul or to cleanse the earth of their presence.

The most we can do is to create an open space, a free opportunity for others to recognize their error. The work of purging begins with Jesus’ work on the cross and extends to the will of the one in whom He is at work. We can work with Him, we can provide clarity so that others can make their own choice, hopefully in favor of purity, goodness, truth, and beauty, but it rests with God alone to sort that out in His own time.  You have no divine sanction or authority, no matter whose name you invoke, to rid the earth of the evil in another’s heart. A Day for that is coming, and surely will come, and for that Day we WORK and WAIT.

In the meantime, go ahead and work, inspire, envision, argue and persuade; direct people’s minds and hearts toward their Maker and Redeemer. Let your light shine. And let the world be brighter, purer, and lovelier, not bloodier, for your presence in it.