There has been much debate about the announcement of a Florida pastor's plan to burn copies of the Quran on Sept. 11. Whereas he should reconsider his position based on feedback received from local and world religious and government leaders, he should primarily consider his idea in light of God's Word.
The pastor has the attention of the world but also a tremendous opportunity to proclaim the most important news story the world can ever hear, namely, the gospel of Jesus Christ. The most important story that can be told is not one man or a group of people burning books in response to a worldview contrary to his or theirs, but God's activity in the world to bring people into a right relationship with himself (Read Romans chapters 1 through 11.) and other people (Read Romans chapters 12 through 16.).
Our response to God's work should be repentance (i.e., a change of mind that leads to changed behavior) and faith (trust in God's promises and counsels in Christ). It is God's mercy that reveals how we should live in a proper relationship with God and other people. It is God's grace that enables us to live a life of "faith working through love."
Rev. Terry Jones, his Gainesville congregation, and we all would do well to remember who God is as our creator and sustainer, how we all have fallen short of loving and honoring God as he deserves, what God has done in Christ to remove the barrier of our sin that has created a chasm between us and God, and live in a manner that testifies to God's greatness and grace. We will remember, by God's grace, if we spend more time prayerfully reading and heeding God's word than speaking and acting in a manner that distracts the watching world from the most important news that's not being reported on.
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