“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.”
(Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.)
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:21
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The Islamic fundamentalist leader Osama bin Laden (born 1957), a harsh critic of the United States and its policies, is widely believed to have orchestrated the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa, as well as the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole in the Yemeni port of Aden. But it is his role as the apparent mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon that have made bin Laden one of the most infamous and sought-after figures in recent history.
World Book Encyclopedia 2004
*****
I think it is a fair assessment to state that Osama Bin Laden
hated the United States. He was a wealthy man with
many political powers and connections; He used
these powers for targeting those that he hated.
Knowing that Osama Bin Laden is no longer among the living,
has brought great relief to many. He was considered to be a hero and a great leader by some;
To others, he was "an evil" to be brought down.Today many are mourning his death,
while others are glad that he is gone.
The question that I want to ask, is how does God see him? Didn't Jesus die for him as well
as for you and me? On the spectrum of sin, where does he stand? Is his sin
somehow less atoned for? Is it darker than mine?
Jesus came for all; God sent him for all.
Should we as Christians be glad that Osama is dead? After all,
wasn't he a very evil man that displayed his hatred
by killing innocent people?
Or should we be mourning his death; A sinner who had not found his way to
the mercy of the cross? One that Christ walked the path of shame, and pain and death
to redeem? Do we have the right to reject the work of the death
and ressurrection of Christ? To dismiss the sacrifice that was made out of love?
Do we justify his death according to his evil deeds?
God makes it clear that there is noone
that deserves eternity with Him.
All have sinned and fall short.
These are tough questions. And it is understandable that
there are those who hate Osama Bin Laden. I understand perfectly.
I have felt hatred in my heart towards people who have
maliciously meant to harm my family because of their
own vengeful feelings.
But hatred is an emotion and our emotions
change with circumstances.
God and His love NEVER change.
And His word never changes.
If we allow our feelings to dictate what is right, are we
not stamping a "VOID" on God's Word.
His Word is the truth in every circumstance.
Can we allow blessings and cursing to come out of the
same vessel?
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I am not saying that I have attained these things; I have not by far.
But if my heart and home, my intentions and actions,
my thoughts and my words are not washed
by the Word of God and His truth,
and I claim to be a Christian,
then I am a hyprocrite and the work of the cross,
on my behalf, was all in vain.
I know of the power of His grace and mercy in my life
and I am grateful. I know that my past would be my present if it
were not for His blood that was shed for the full and free forgiveness
of my sin.
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