Osama bin Laden dead

Around ten o'clock last night I was ending my day. I had been to the funeral home across town and then grocery shopped. I came home and made lunches for the kids and finished up laundry. I had been upstairs to get the kids to bed. Just before I went to sleep, I turned on the news to see if "anythng had happened." I saw Heraldo, grinning ear to ear, as he joyously declared that bin Laden was dead. Wow!

A few minutes later my son came downstairs to tell me he had gotten texts about the death. He looked at me and asked, "Is that good?" My son has been a conscience tweaker since he was a toddler. He has always wanted to know "is he a good guy? is he a bad guy?" when we watch movies or analyze news stories. Is it good that Osama is dead? I told him 'yes' but I did not find myself dancing and celebrating. I am not sure why.

I grew up in a military family. My dad is a retired sailor.  His dad and brothers also were sailors. As such, we have always had a special affection for the Seals. Dad met some of them in the 1960's during Viet Nam and he came home with great stories. I read the book on the founder of the Seal team six. I blogged about a wedding I did over Christmas with a young man who is a Seal (and how excited I was). I have never been averse to military stories or movies. I played army as a child all the time. I also have a sense of right and wrong. I believe there is evil and I believe we need to take a stand. I have found myself in positions where I did just that. So why no jubilation over the death of the man responsible for thousands of deaths and untold suffering for millions due to the economic and social repurcussions of his acts? He lit a fuse which led to ten years of war. He produced incredible evil in our world.

I guess the issue is Jesus. I do not think Jesus would be jumping up and down cheering. Maybe He would, but I do not think so. I hear Jesus say, "love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you." I hear Jesus on the cross, tortured and dying, cry out, "Father forgive them..." Jesus haunts me at times like this.

Does this mean that I think the US should tell Osama bin Laden all is forgiven? No, I am not that silly or naive. I have no doubt that pursuing him for ten years prevented other heinous terrorist acts. I think the man who sqeezed off two rounds into the brain that plotted so much evil did the world a favor. I think it is a just act and a righteous kill.

I also think it is sad. If bin Laden had used his resources to alleviate suffering what could he have accomplished? If he had trained young men to creat jobs and improve the plight of poor Muslims in the middle east what wonders would his millions have created? His death is a terrible waste because his life is a terrible waste. Such waste is a tragedy.

As I heard of his death I found myself drawn back into a painful place, flashbacks to those September days when the world seemed turned upside down and our nation suffered an open wound. I thought of thousands dead, tens of thousands who mourned their loss, and tens of millions who shared their pain. The Seal team got the perpetrator, but the dead are still dead and the maimed still maimed. Maybe today will bring healing to some, if so, God bless them. I do not feel healed.

I wonder what the days ahead will hold. Will some terrorist's act of revenge take more lives? Will more buildings blow up, more men, women and children be slaughtered? Will new cities be in shock?

Or will the terrorists be more reluctant to act? Will this truly be a success which defangs the killers and makes them impotent? Will the world become a bit safer and more humane?

Yesterday I wrote that we need a savior. I believe that today as much as then. Osama bin Laden did much evil. He believed things which I think are untrue. He advocated things which are wrong. I guess some people assume he is in Hell. He died thinking he was headed to heaven (or so we are led to believe). He thought he was pleasing to his god and doing holy acts.

Where is he? He is in God's hands. My belief is he is being educated. The Lord Jesus is teaching him the pain he caused. Jesus is allowing him to feel every life taken and its repurcussions (physical, spiritual, emotional). It is called judgment. It is called truth. Jesus is allowing him to feel all the pain he caused, to experience all the lives he destroyed and disrupted. Jesus is pouring each event into bin Laden and saying "reap what you sow." The prospect is horrifying to me. Even if he is an evil man, I shudder to think of the responsibility he bears. I shudder, in part, because it brings to mind my own responsibility for suffering in the world. Can I delight in justice for others and cry out for mercy for myself?

Is it good that they killed him? Yes, the world is a better place without him. Yet, there may be others poised to rise up and take his place. Maybe there will be more evil come of this. Who can know before hand? Even so, it was the right thing to do, I believe. But what haunts me is what am I answerable for? What has me blindness and selfishness led me to do? How have I misunderstood God and done wrong things in His name? Certainly not on the scale of bin Laden, but is evil on any scale okay?

Easter is a time to reflect on Jesus' death on the cross for our sins and His resurrection. The successful mission of these navy seals has given me a reason to ponder more deeply on mortality, evil and justice. I pray for mercy from God for all of us. No one is really innocent, even if some are much more guilty. I dare not minimize the evil Osama has done, but I dare not ignore my own sin, either. I do know this, I can and will pray today, "Maranatha. Come Lord Jesus. Come Lord and rescue a world hungry for healing and new life!"