Some thoughts post-Osama

Last night around 11pm, I saw tons of people start posting on Facebook that Osama Bin Laden had been killed via American bomb. At first, I was like, "Okay, ha ha, joke's over, let's get on with it." Then it started dawning on me that it was true (and hammered into my brain by the screams and shouts and music coming from the frats across from where my dorm is). Honestly, even looking past my annoyance with the loud music and celebration until 1AM, though I understand why people are so happy and everything, I could hardly manage even a half-smile. A parade of people stood under my window last night with an American flag, playing The Star Spangled Banner with an accordion and trombone and snare drum and vocals, and I simply watched from above in disconnected silence as a small wave of sadness washed over me. I stopped and wondered why I was feeling so, and then upon thinking about it more I knew why things regarding all of this celebration weren't sitting right with me.

Where is the line between justice and revenge, first of all? It seems like the people whose loved ones were involved in the 9/11 attacks have reason for wanting justice and being angry and having some closure with Osama's death. But what about everyone else in America? Where does justice end and revenge begin? In fact, it shouldn't even be about justice, because guess what, guys:

It's not our job to take care of justice, no matter how badly we want it.

In Romans 12:9, Paul writes, "Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord." Osama deserves and will be receiving eternal death, as far as I see. But guess what? Each of us deserves the same. We are all sinners, in God's eyes, and each of us has transgressed farther than we'd like to think. Without Jesus' sacrifice, we wouldn't even have the chance at eternity with God. Without His grace and forgiveness, we would be in Osama's situation for sure.

God is loving, merciful, and slow to anger, but He is also just. He will make sure everyone receives what they deserve when Judgement Day comes. Don't worry, your enemies will be punished for what they have done to you, but guess what? You will be justly admonished for your own wrongs, as well.

What does this mean for us when we look at Osama Bin Laden's death? While I think we can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that there's one less terrorist in the world, I honestly think we should also understand a couple of things: 1) God created Osama just like He created you and me, 2) It is God's job to deliver justice and ours to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (see Matthew 5:44), and 3) Our growing knowledge of the sacrifice Christ made for us, of God's grace and forgiveness, should humble us daily and work in our hearts to make us more capable of forgiving those who have hurt us, personally or not. Romans 12:20 says a little more about how we should treat those who we believe to have hurt us.

How we love our enemies says a lot about the conditions of our hearts. It's easy to love those who love you in return, but to love even those who seem like they are beyond forgiveness (which nobody is, by the way; look at Saul/Paul's life!) is something incredibly difficult, even impossible. What it requires is the power of the Holy Spirit.

For more reading on this, check out my friend Alex's blog: http://mindcupcake.tumblr.com/