"As I live, declares the Lord God, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather That the wicked turn from his way and live." Ezekiel 33:11
"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." --Martin Luther King, Jr
At the expense of sounding rather unpatriotic, I have to comment on the death of Bin Laden.
I am not rejoicing. I am not glad that (as a man on the radio said) he's burning in hell. In fact, that makes me very sad.
Don't get me wrong, Bin Laden was a horrible individual. He committed unspeakable crimes. He spread hate like a virus. He killed indiscriminately. He did not deserve to live. I am thankful that he can no longer inflict his evil on others.
But then, neither do I. I've lied. I've stolen. I've hated. I've gossiped. I've turned my back on the Lord. I've sinned. And in the eyes of Lord, there's no difference between the evil I've done and the evil done by Bin Laden. We are both created children of God. It must break His heart to have one of His children die outside of His presence and grace.
Knowing that a child of the Lord is now lost for eternity is not something to celebrate no matter the crimes of that child.
And on top of that, I know that the death of Bin Laden will not end our problem with terrorists. He was one of many men. He was one of a group of men who will not be dissuaded. Westerners (especially Americans) do not comprehend the idea of Jihad. This war will never end on the side of the militant Islamics. Never. To believe this is now over is naive.
5 comments:
Thank you farmwife for this. You said exactly how I've been feeling in my heart.
Here we go again, agreeing! What's happening to us Shauna? I've just been sick reading some people's statuses on FB today. Which is why I've had the statuses I've had. I don't get it at all.
"As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live." -Ezekiel 33:11
It was a hard 24 hours on Facebook. I had to look away. Bless you, my friend.
Hi - I stumbled across your blog randomly - I just wanted to say that, while I'm neither American or religious, this post is one of the most intelligent comments on OBL's death that I have read thus far.
Thanks!!!
You speak the truth Shauna. Why can't other people understand this? Does revenge solve all the problems of the world? All I have heard is that his death is payback for what he did on Sept. 11. God doesn't promote revenge in my Bible!! Everyone acts as if revenge is okay. I guess I am a to forgiving person.
Post a Comment