“Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?” (Ezekiel 33:11)
This is a good day. We awoke Monday morning to the news of the death of one of the greatest enemies the United States has ever had, Osama bin Laden. Celebrations broke out all over the country and the world that this evil man would no longer be able to terrorize anyone. We all marvel at the skill and bravery of the Navy Seal team that carried out the mission. They landed a disabled helicopter right in his back yard, got their job done, and got out of there without any loss of life other than the enemy target and those who were with him. We will never know the names of these great soldiers who thought nothing of their own lives, and were fully prepared to lay them down to rid the world of this evil man so that others could live.
Speaking of which, we do know the name of the man who laid down his life 2,000 years ago that others might live: the Lord Jesus Christ. As a result of his sacrifice, any man, woman or child on earth can be freed from the bondage of sin. But it is only available to those who trust Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour. Jesus died for the sins of the world, but rejecting his offer of the free gift of grace results in the same hell that bin Laden knows of today. This is perhaps a hard thing to say and maybe even harder to understand, but God loved Osama bin Laden as much as he loved you. He sent his Son to die for his sins as well as yours. There was a day many years ago when his mother and father held him as a newborn, and they probably loved him just like you do your children. Unfortunately, due to a false religion and a culture of hatred, his life took a horrible and nasty turn into the beast he became. The outcome we have seen and lived with over the last couple of decades is a result of his rejection of the Saviour. It was that rejection of the love of God that put him in hell, not his murderous rampage. His terrorist perversion was the by-product of his refusal to accept the Son of God. Rejection is rejection. It leads some into the moral cesspool of drugs and sexual perversion. It leads others like this man into the depths of Satanic blood lust. Rejection leads many into a nice comfortable life of religion and morality, where they don’t need the Saviour because they think they are good enough on their own. But that road leads to the same hell. Many will object to that statement. A “decent God-fearing man” who has not received Jesus as his Saviour will claim he is going to heaven because he is not as bad as Osama bin Laden. Well, lah-de-dah. That is a great standard to compare oneself to, huh? Why not compare yourself to Jesus? Instead of ranking yourself ahead of a sick twisted maniac, why not recognize that you are not as good as the only sinless man who ever lived. He came to die for your sins and deliver you from hell. Receive him while there is still time.
The verse above says God does not rejoice when a wicked man like this dies. Proverbs 24:17 says, “Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth…” God desires that the wicked would turn from their evil to receive his Son. James 2:13 says “…mercy rejoiceth against judgment.” God will apply judgment if necessary. He did so with bin Laden a couple of days ago; both physically by his death, and spiritually by his eternal destiny. He would rather have been able to apply his mercy, because of the two – judgment and mercy – God rejoices more in mercy. But there must be reason for his mercy to be applied. That reason is not because of anyone’s “goodness”, but because someone paid for sin. While we celebrate the victory, we also grieve the loss of a soul. The true victory will come when Jesus finally returns and conquers the “last enemy” of death. We all know that bin Laden’s death does not end the battle over terrorism. Someday soon, our Lord will return. The only true victory is over sin and death. We obtain it when we bow the knee to the Lord of glory, Jesus Christ. If you have never done so, why not now?
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