Often, in competition, the best defense is a good offense. That was true for my high school soccer team. When the line and mid-fielders controlled the ball, the fullbacks and goal keeper could relax. Defending the goal was only necessary when the offence turned the ball over to the opposing team. Of course, then we were glad we had a good defense.
It is also true with board games. The player with the best offensive strategy generally wins. For example, you can string the game out by only protecting your king in Chess, but you will not win.
A good offense is also the best strategy in combating terrorism. To best protect our family, community, and nation from terrorists, we should demonstrate God’s love through our words and deeds. This is not a defensive or passive activity. Rather, it is proactive. It moves us to look outside ourselves and the circle of our current lives to see beyond. Who is beyond my current reach that I can go to?
We, the people of God, lost the Boston Marathon terror incident from a strategic and spiritual perspective. Our strategy was not as good as our opponent’s strategy. Terror won this time. What would have been different if a loving church had effectively prayed and reached out to the Tsarnaev brothers?
This could provide a wake-up opportunity to the Church. We could use this incident to help us adjust our strategy. How can we become more proactive in proclaiming God’s glory in our neighborhoods and to the ends of the earth? How can we more practically love the people in our neighborhoods, down the freeway, and across the ocean? By God’s grace, we can develop a good offense and that will bring the ultimate victory over terror and other evils that plague our world.
Remember, as Christians, our battle is spiritual. “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6
Not sure I entirely agree with you here. As a nation, I think we reached out as well as we could. They were given refuge here – help with living and education. Apparently, esp. the younger, was warmly loved and had many friends and opportunities. They chose the dark side – evil in its ugliest form after having been shown the light. Yes, as Christians we need to keep offering Christ, but some choose to reject Him. We need not beat ourselves up about failure. They failed – evil won, but not forever.
You might be right about people’s efforts to reach out to those guys. I don’t know. Nevertheless, regardless of the effort, the good guys lost and terror won. As in other areas of life, we sometimes loose even when we give our best effort. Those times become learning opportunities. How can we bet better? I’m not advocating that we “beat ourselves up.” A better word might be “reflection.” We can reflect on the situation and improve our outreach strategies.