I don’t know if you heard, but Osama Bin Laden is dead.  If you haven’t heard I am wondering how you are reading this since you must live in a cave! Well I have some thoughts on the death of Osama Bin Laden that I wanted to share with y’all.

• I am saddened to see this event used as a political grab, although I am not surprised.  I see people on Facebook thanking President George W. Bush.  I see others thanking President Barack Obama.  From a very literal perspective if you are going to credit any President we would have to credit President Obama.  He made the call to run the operation to achieve the desired objective of putting to death Osama Bin Laden.  George Bush had nothing to do with that call, we can all admit that, Obama did not call up Crawford, Texas and ask permission. But please folk lets not make this out to be some amazing thing that Obama did either.  Any sitting President who had the information that Pres. Obama had would make that call.  President Obama didn’t personally search for or find Bin Laden, he didn’t provide the tip that led to his demise, he didn’t pull the trigger of the weapon that shot Bin Laden.  He made a phone call. If you were President and the objective of the last 10 years, “get Osama Bin Laden” was able to be completed you would have made the same call.  It has nothing to do with Democrat (remember Bill Clinton tried to get Osama too and missed during his presidency) or Republican, it is the job and the duty of the sitting president.  So lets not make this political!  Can’t we just be content from a Nationalistic perspective with the reality that an enemy of the United States no longer exists to be our enemy?
• I am saddened to see celebration over the death of Osama Bin Laden. I am even more saddened that CHRISTIANS are celebrating!  If we are to be examples of the Lord and our lives are to be a reflection of the Lord, then how does celebrating jive with this text? “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.”  (Ezekiel 33:11) Did you read that?  God takes NO PLEASURE in the death of the wicked.  So why do we?  I was once having a conversation with a friend of mine that is a fighter pilot.  I asked him about dropping bombs on people, a statement he made in his response is profound and appreciated, “Chad, you sometimes see guys high-fiving and congratulating each other, but although I believe what I am doing is what I am supposed to be doing, I know I will have to give an account to God for my attitude about what I am doing.  So I don’t do any celebrating because I know God doesn’t like to see people die no matter who it is.”  I praise the Lord my friend feels that way!  I understand that civil governments have responsibilites to protect people and the overall good of a nation, I accept this reality, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it, and I really hope I never get comfortable with it!
• Pastor Pete Wilson tweeted yesterday and wrote on his blog, “I wonder if I would have been as excited if the news had reported that Bin Laden had repented and accepted Christ as I was when I heard he had been killed?” I think it is a great question for us to think about.  How would you have responded if Osama had come out and said, I have accepted Jesus as my Savior?  Would people have been celebrating in Times Square and at The White House?  If our answer is that we wouldn’t be celebrating this then we don’t have the heart of Christ!  If we are thinking that this would be impossible or that God would never forgive a person like Bin Laden, then we don’t have the heart of Christ and we don’t know our Bibles!  Can I remind you of a story in the book of Acts?  In the book of Acts chapter 8 there is a story of a guy named Saul that ravaged the church. He approved of the execution of a Christian named Stephen (Act 8:1), he killed and imprisoned many other Christians (Acts 26:9-11).  He struck fear into the leaders of the church even after his conversion (Acts 9:26).  Saul was a TERRORIST!: “A person who uses terrorism in the pursuit of political aims.” But then Saul had an encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus where he was going to kill more Christians, Jesus stopped him in his tracks and Saul became Paul the Apostle and his life was never the same and neither is the history of the church! (Acts 9).  Osama Bin Laden to the best of our knowledge never accepted Jesus.  But if he had we should have been celebrating, and what’s more, rather than praying for his capture, we should have been praying for his soul…I know I never did, and now it is too late!  

Those are my thoughts.  Do you agree? Disagree?  What are your insights?