I’ve been giving some thought to the death of Osama Bin Laden. I vividly remember the tragedy of 9/11. Media coverage brought constant images before our eyes. Crushed fire engines, toppled buildings, and first response teams in tears. Fences covered with pictures of the missing.
There is that part of me that rejoices that he has died, and that justice has been done. He now stands before the God of all creation, where he will have to give account of his actions. This is justice -- to stand before our final Judge & give an accounting of our lives.
But there is also the part of me that is saddened. With his death, there is no longer a chance that Bin Laden would turn from his ways & turn to Christ. Was this likely? Certainly not. But while there is life, there is always the chance for a soul to turn. Now, a soul that was lost in life is now lost in death. I don’t rejoice in the loss of any soul.
Do you remember “Saul, Saul, why persecuteth thou Me?” [Yes, sometimes I do think in the King James Version 8-) ] Acts says that “Saul was in hearty agreement with putting [Stephen] to death…Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison.” [Acts 8:1,3] Saul was fully intending to put everyone in the new Church into prison. But on the road to Damascus, Jesus spoke to him, and thus began the transformation from Saul to Paul, apostle of Christ.
“Immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, ‘He is the Son of God.’ And all those hearing him continued to be amazed, and were saying, ‘Is this not he who in Jerusalem destroyed those who called on this name, and who had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?’ But Saul kept increasing in strength and confounding the Jews who lived at Damascus by proving that this Jesus is the Christ.” [Acts 9:20-22]
No one can deny that Paul’s letters have challenged and transformed countless Christians’ lives. But there, at the beginning, he was a persecutor, not a believer. He was transformed by the power of Christ, as he turned from his old ways and turned to Jesus.
As long as there are sinners, there will be miraculous transformations, whether it be from a persecutor to a believer, or from a drug dealer to a follower of Christ. I believe in transformations, because I myself was transformed by His amazing love and grace. As long as someone lives, transformation is possible.
It is God’s mercy that saves us from the consequences of our sin. II Corinthians 5:21 says “He made Him who knew no sin to become sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” It is His grace that gives us eternal life. It was His mercy and grace that saved Saul and transformed his life, as He also transformed mine.
So today, even though I am pleased that justice has been done in Bin Laden’s case, there is still some conflict in my heart. It is hard to rejoice in anyone’s death, even though the evil of his actions certainly earned it. Now, he stands before our Creator.
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