I had determined that I wasn’t going to write about this topic because I am not 100% sure how I feel about it all. Let’s be real though, people are talking about it and so I wanted to share some thoughts, even though they are mixed thoughts! Let’s talk about the US killing Osama bin Laden!
I hate, like every other American, what he did in sending his followers to attack and kill Americans. I am enraged at the thought of what he did on September 11, 2001. I am thankful that the American soldiers have fought long and hard to put an end to terrorism and I believe every military man & woman and their families are heroes. But let’s not fool ourselves; just because bin Laden is dead does not mean terrorism is dead. I have no doubt in my mind that he knew at some point he would be captured and most likely killed. I have no doubt that he took the time to train his leaders on what to do when that time came. I also have no doubt that they are in the process of carrying out the next “phase” of attack.
Am I glad that Osama bin Laden is dead? That, my friend, is a tough one. Am I glad that the leader of terrorism is not able to terrorize anymore? Yes, I am. Am I glad that he is dead? I just don’t know how to answer that. I firmly believe that God cannot stand when people murder; I believe that He would prefer there not be war, but He is God and knows that sometimes it is necessary. I also believe that God doesn’t want anyone to go to hell…even Osama bin Laden! God sent His Son to die for EVERYONE; not just the people who do good or change. God NEVER put a condition on His love nor did He place a condition on who His Son would and would not die for! Yes, there were wars in Bible times, but that doesn’t mean that God liked it; there were evil people in Bible times too and God didn’t hate them! The Bible talks about the end times and there being wars; so I firmly believe that this is something that was already talked about in the Bible, but that does not mean that God enjoyed it.
The Bible tells us that we are to love EVERYONE; especially our enemies! We are to pray blessing over those who persecute us. Is it easy? Not in anyway. Do I think that Osama should have died for what he did? I believe that he definitely should have been punished for his crimes and death was the method in which it happened. That doesn’t mean I think we should or shouldn’t have killed him and it doesn’t mean that I don’t respect and honor our troops. In fact, I am thankful every day for those men and women who fight so that I can be a mom, wife, business woman and Christian!
1 John 2:9-11 “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness had blinded him.”
Matthew 5:43-48 “You have heard that it has been said, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hat thine enemy’. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you , and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your bretheren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”
1 John 4:20-21 “If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given up this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.”
These are just three passages of scripture that I found about loving our enemies. Notice that in NONE of these does God command us to agree with what our enemies do and pat them on the back for a good job destroying us; He simply commands us to love them! God doesn’t look at sin and wrong doing and say “This one was really bad, this one was bad but not too bad, this one can slide.” Sin is sin and it is all wrong and all treated the same. God hates lying as much as He hates murder. Yes, Osama bin Laden carried out a very horrific and tragic thing; but he is still God’s child and God is saddened by the lie Osama chose to live and He is saddened that another one of His children must now spend eternity in hell.
That doesn’t make what bin Laden did any less horrible. But hating him and rejoicing in his death only means that we have stooped to the level of the people that Osama trained to do evil things; it means that we have, according to the Word of God, murdered in our hearts!
I know that we all have mixed feelings about this and it is good to know that Osama bin Laden can no longer hurt anyone; but the bottom line is…a mamma’s son died, a child’s daddy is gone and a wife grieves the loss of her husband. Yes, our soldiers died in this fight and I have no doubt that, sadly, more will. But if we take a moment and view Osama bin Laden as God does…Osama was a son, a daddy, a husband, a child that God created!
I hate terrorism; I hate that ANYONE has had to lose their life; I hate that the World is in such turmoil; I hate that someone has to spend eternity in hell because he made very bad choices. God’s heart is grieved that another soul is in hell…when God’s heart is grieved, ours should be too!
I know I will get a lot of flak from this blog and quite frankly…I don’t care. I said what was on my heart and what I believe I was supposed to say. If that makes for some haters…then so be it; the day I shut my mouth when God places something on my heart is the day I have given in to disobedience to my Father who paid the ultimate price for my life!
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