Thoughts on OBL

There has been some pretty dramatic changes in the world over the last few days. You would have to be living under a rock to not know what I'm referring to. So, because of the well known events that have transpired, there is no reason to recap. But a great many people have begun to talk and say what they think - or at least regurgitate what someone else thinks and pawn it off as their own thoughts. So here are some of my thoughts. Many will disagree, some might agree, but at least we're thinking.

• Osama Bin Laden is dead and that is good. It is good for terrible men to no longer be afforded the opportunity to continue in their terribleness and run the risk of others joining them.
• Osama Bin Laden is dead and that is bad. It is bad because, as far as we can tell, his soul is lost forever in a place separated from God called hell. He is apparently separated from God for all eternity not because he masterminded the horrific 9/11 attacks, but because he did not know Jesus.
• Osama Bin Laden is dead and that is a reason to celebrate. Many people celebrated the news of his death, not because they enjoy death, nor do they see it as a means to undo the evil inflicted by OBL on 9/11. Rather, it is cause to celebrate because in our most intrinsic and natural desires there is a desire for justice. We have seen justice played out and there is something fulfilling about that.
• Osama Bin Laden is dead and that is a reason to be sad. A flood of memories and emotional pain has come rushing back for those who lost loved ones and that is hard and makes a person sad. Death is a terrible thing, no matter who it devours. Death is something outside of God's original design for the universe and so we hate death. OBL's death is sad because he died twice in an instant.

If it were necessary, I would defend each of these statements, but I believe many people can see something true in them. There are many who run around shooting off sound bites as status updates and tweets concerning OBL's death. Some have profound insight and help to bring the situation back to the eternal perspective. Many others are simply insensitive and reckless in their comments. Please be more careful.

I sat and watched as a plane exploded into a tower in New York city. I watched two towers fall and kill thousands of people in an instant. I watched as children danced in the streets of many countries at the news that thousands had been killed. I watched live TV as bodies came tumbling from the windows of the upper floors. I saw the devastation and the torment on people's faces. I have seen ground zero and it was sobering.

At the news of his death, my heart soared and sunk. It was a sober kind of happiness. Not full happiness; not full sadness.

For those who were too young to watch the attacks on 9/11, or were too young to understand what was happening, be careful in your comments. Facebook is now riddled with young folks who were probably between 4 and 12 when 9/11 happened. Some of them make comments like: "who cares?", "what's the big deal?", "get over it." There is a lack of tact and perspective when comments like that are made. You would care if your Daddy was blown up. For you to experience a sense of justice would be a big deal. OBL's death helps us get over the indescribable horrors of 9/11.

For me personally, this topic is hard to navigate. On one hand I am to hate evil and anything that stands opposed to God. Death is evil and stands opposed to God. Acts of terrorism are evil and stand opposed to God. Osama Bin Laden was evil and stood opposed to God. At the same time, we as Christians are supposed to love our enemies. OBL was an enemy and so is anyone that hates God and stands opposed to Him. These we are to love. And the epitome of love is the holding out of life in the name of Jesus to those that are without life and Jesus.

One thing I do know is that it appears that OBL is forever separated from God in a Christless place called hell because he knew neither God, nor the Christ. The same fate awaits any who knows neither God, nor His Christ. This is a great opportunity to reflect on that question. Do I know God as He has revealed Himself in the person of Jesus Christ? 

God has offered Jesus as a substitute for the penalty of death that stood over us due to our life of choosing not-God over God. We have been offered a full payment on our behalf. The legal demands of the Law have been fulfilled if we chose to receive their benefits. Our desire for justice has been fulfilled because God chose Jesus to be the Just and the Justifier; the means and the end of our salvation. We no longer fear condemnation because in our guilty place stands the innocent Christ who takes away our sins. God has offered Jesus. It is not an offer to escape death so much as it is an offer to receive life. Without Christ we die twice in an instant. With Christ, though we die, we truly live!