Please take a moment to read the following from Luke's Gospel (9:51-56, NASB).
When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem; and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him. But they did not receive Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem. When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" But He turned and rebuked them, [and said, "You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them."] And they went on to another village.
James and John, as far as they knew, were "all in" as Christfollowers. They'd left their father and their nets to follow Jesus. Jesus' teaching was transforming their lives. They had witnessed His miracles. Jesus had even authorized and empowered them to cast out demons, heal the sick, raise the dead and preach the gospel. They had purpose, direction. It's not unlikely that by this time, they were beginning to walk with a swagger. The biblical testimony gives hints of this (Mark 10:37).
When people seemed unreceptive to Him, especially those contemptible Samaritans, their default setting was to imagine that they, like Elijah of old, should simply incinerate them! Who do you find contemptible? The LGBTQ community and/or terrorists? Clearly, Jesus wasn't on board with that. His response to them is forceful, as if He was shocked by the very idea. Two things in Jesus' response strike me. One, He's about saving perceived enemies, not destroying them. Two, James and John had no idea that they were under the wrong influence!
What spirit influences me? I'm afraid that I've been more like James and John at times, than Jesus. How about you?
Holy Spirit, make us like Jesus! May we see that He came to save perceived enemies of the Gospel, and not to destroy them. Have mercy on us and transform us!