Was he evil? Yes. Did he murder thousands of innocent people? Yes. Do I feel a sense of relief now that he in out of the picture? Yes. But - was he a man that was created by God like me? Yes. Is God rejoicing over the fact that he is in hell? I don't think so. Regardless of the type of man bin Laden was - he had a soul. He was loved by God. This blog summed everything up so well for me this morning:
by Jud Kossum
Osama bin Laden is dead. That’s the big news this morning.
I believe justice has been done. I believe he deserved what he got. I believe this creates closure for a lot of people whose loved ones were murdered by this man.
I also believe that this is not something to celebrate. As a friend of mine pointed out this morning, God says, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live.” (Ezekiel 33:11)
This morning another wicked man is in hell. His death does nothing to reverse the horrible fate of the 3,000 people he murdered on September 11, 2001.
Only once in history has the death of one man reversed the horrible fate of others. That man was Jesus Christ. He – the Son of God – died on the cross because God loves all the world. Jesus died for you, for me, and for Osama bin Laden.
Let’s be thankful that justice has been served today but be mindful of the fact that, without faith in Christ, we deserve no better fate than bin Laden.
_______________________________________________________________________________
What we so easily forget is that sin is sin. Evil is evil. God does not put our sin in categories. One sin is not better than another. ALL of it separates us from Christ. All of it causes eternal death and hell. We humans are the ones who have created categories to help us feel better about ourselves. But in reality, we are all very capable of becoming just like bin Laden. And no matter how we categorize and justify our sin - our fate is the same as well.
Today, I am thankful for a God that loved us all enough to die for us. I am thankful for His grace, His mercy, His unconditional love. This same love, and grace, and mercy is available to ALL - even to the Osama bin Laden's of this world. Had he repented and accepted Christ as his Savior, he too could have had a different fate. In that regard, I am sad for him.
2 comments:
This is so very true! Thanks for your openess and honesty. At first, I was one of those "YEAH!" people but then a few minutes went by and I thought "You know, he was a creation just like me and the Christ that died for my sins died for his...and Christ would rather him have changed and gone to heaven than hell....just like he desires us all."
Good thoughts for the day Cami!
Cami..I just thought I would leave a comment on Bin Laden. This is just "my" opinion but I feel that "yes" he does have a soul. But I believe in keeping the Ten Commandments and he broke the fifth Commandment 10 fold and over. He tortured children,women,and men alike and masterminded 9/11 and killed 3000 of our Americans. God so loved the world but Bin Laden hated God and God shows his mercy, grace and blessings to who loves him and keeps his Commandments.God threatens to punish all that transgress these Commandments. So actually we should fear his wrath and not act contrary to them. He promises grace, and blessing to all that keep them. He has taught us to love and trust in him that willingly keep his Commandments. I was raised in the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church and our Catechism is our basis of belief. So I guess I am one of those that feel he betrayed our Lord and deserves "his" now. Evil is what Evil Does. I don't want you to think bad of my opinion, I am just glad that I didn't loose a loved one that he murdered and I feel horrible for those 9/11 families and for the Muslims in his own country he mass murdered. I don't feel I have to ask for God's forgiveness to be celebrating his capture(death).He was given the choice to surrender. love Ya, Aunt Pam
Post a Comment