My thoughts on Bin Laden

Last night the President announced the death of Osama Bin Laden. And WOW - Facebook became a real live debate room! My facebook friend's opinions went from one extreme to the other. I've been thinking and praying and trying to decide where I stand on the topic. What's done has been done for a reason. This is not outside of God's knowledge nor his control. I'm not concerned about the facts. I'm absolutely NOT saying that I think it was wrong that he was killed...I'm not saying that at all. What I'm concerned about is my response to the news. Is my heart right? Has my heart become hard? So last night and this morning I've been soul-searching and digging through Scripture. Here is what I've come up with so far....

First let me say that I am VERY thankful to all the men and women of our Armed Forces who sacrifice daily for the benefit of US citizens and for the sake of people outside of our borders as well. I appreciate you and applaud your hard work and dedication.  I don't want anyone to think that I am ungrateful for the sacrifice our troops and their families have given over the last 10 years. You are truly HEROS!

Part of me is very glad to know that justice has been done where Bin Laden is concerned. But at the same time...what if I received what I deserved?  I have earned death and eternity apart from God. ONLY by GRACE have I been saved from that. Ephesians 2:8-9 says "For it is by grace that you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.".  That same grace was available to Bin Laden and anyone else who chooses to believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And, honestly, I hope that before he died Bin Laden chose to accept God's grace and forgiveness for his sins (yes, Christ would forgive even him). With our human eyes we see sin on 'levels', but in God's eyes sin is sin...period. A little white lie is just as much sin as the mass murder of thousands. Matthew 5:21-22 says "You have heard it said to those of old, You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgement. But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgement." I know for sure that I have been angry at someone for no real reason before (or maybe for a reason, but a selfish one) therefore I am in danger of judgement just as much as someone who has committed murder. The next paragraph says the same is true of adultery - someone who looks upon someone else with lust has already committed adultery in his/her heart. The differences in those sins are the consequences. The consequences of a little white lie probably won't affect as many people as a mass murder, but the end judgement is the same. The ONLY thing that will keep us from God's judgement is God's grace!

In Proverbs 24:17 it says "Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles.". It says in Ezekiel 18:23 "Do I take pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?".  At the same time the Bible is full of stories of God's wrath and judgement. But there are NO contradictions in the Bible!!! The truth is that God is LOVE and JUSTICE. Just studying the word 'justice' in my Bible I found LOTS of references to his justice and love both! Here are a few of them - Psalm 9:8, 9:16, 11:7. Get this - Zechariah 7:9 says " This is what the Lord Almighty says" 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another."! Isaiah 30:18 says " Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him!". WOW - those 2 verses talks about both His compassion AND His justice. We have a really hard time reconciling those truths, but that doesn't make them any less true. :) We can't quite wrap our minds around it. But we don't have to nor do we need to. We won't fully understand WHO GOD IS until we meet Him face to face! If we could then what kind of God would He be? If He wasn't too big for us to fully understand then there would be no mystery, no reason for us to need to depend on Him. 

So...what should my response, as a Christian (not as an American), be to the news of Bin Laden's death? I believe it should be one of humility. I'm no better than he was...no less of a sinner. Yes, the consequences of his sin were vast and affected an entire country (world even), but God's grace was still available to him. I want my heart to reflect that of my Savior...

Those are my thoughts. :)