The Quandary Of A Death

I'm having a problem. Osama Bin Laden. He is dead. He is assumedly in hell. It is rather clear that he died without Christ in his life. And it brings me no joy.

Please do not misunderstand. I despise what he did. "Despise" is not a strong enough word. I can throw out a lot of other words in an attempt to be more specific. More accurate. I am horrified. I find him despicable. I detest who he was, what he stood for, and what he did. Hell is precisely what he deserves. Eternal punishment in never ending torment.

And so do I.

Of course I have never given the orders to fly people filled passenger jets into people filled buildings. I have never ordered or even cheered for the death of a human being. But it doesn't take that kind of evil to cause a person to deserve hell. It just takes one simple act of rebellion against God. Even a small one. Need convincing? Ask Adam and Eve. It was just a piece of fruit. A simple piece of fruit. It was the only fruit on the planet that God told them not to eat. And they ate it. Sin. Rebellion. Just a little. And it multiplied and multiplied and multiplied until we witnessed that mind-numbing moment of history we call 9/11. It still turns our stomachs. I still feel the shiver of horror when I think of that day ... those images ... the desperate families seeking lost loved ones.

And it all began with a piece of forbidden fruit.

Every lust filled thought I have ever had, much less acted on, is the result of the fruit salad the first couple dined on thousands of years ago in that beautifully perfect garden. Every lie I have ever told. Every law I have ever broken. Every idol I have ever worshipped. I could go on but it makes my stomach hurt to think about "the real me." The one underneath "the pastor me." Oh yes, the pastor one is real too. But only by the grace of God.

1st John 1: 5 says, "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." You see, light and darkness can never occupy the same room. Light always wins. Always. There was a lot of darkness in me. I invited the light in one day and the darkness had to flee. I can still taste it. Still remember its chill. But today, thanks be to God, I walk in the light. There was a lot of darkness in Osama Bin Laden. He chose to die in that darkness. And that causes the light in me to grieve. I believe we see that same effect in the heart of our God when we read in Ezekiel 33: 11 "Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?" I do not grieve because his evil reign of terror has come to an end. I do not grieve because their was a fire fight and the bullet found it's mark in his head. I grieve because the darkness won another one. Osama Bin Laden was not Satan. I suppose they knew each other quiet well. But until the very moment the bullet ended his life even OBU could have repented and come to The Light of Christ. He chose not to. And that is why I grieve. The real terrorist ... Satan ... won the battle for the soul of Bin Laden.

There is one death that will give me great joy. It is spoken of in 1st Corinthians 15: 26. "The last enemy to be destroyed is death." Now that will be a day to cheer. There will be no place to be found that does is not filled with the light of Jesus Christ. No soul remaining to reject His love. No graves to visit. No taste of fear in our mouths. No "breaking news" that causes our hearts to skip a beat. There will be light. Sweet, precious Light.

The Light of my Jesus.