[I wrote the following in my journal a year ago in response to the death of Osama bin Laden.]
"God does not delight in the death of the wicked." The weight of that statement bears down on me today. I know God (according to the Bible) often commanded that certain enemies be wiped out. But even David wept when his long time enemy, Saul, was finally killed. He even wrote a poem about him.
God sees our enemies before they become our enemies. God saw little Adolph in Austria at his mother's knee. God saw Osama the day he was born. Gaddafi, Idi Amin, Stalin, Mussolini - the list goes on. God saw them all, and God knew them. They were His creation, and they delighted Him just because they lived...
God also saw when it all started to go bad -- the abuse, the misleading teacher, the wicked mentor, the false propaganda. God saw it all as the innocence of youth was lost and perversity set it. I watch the Super Nanny (when I can stomach it), and I marvel at these horrid little children and the parents that put up with them. Then I think - Hitler, Osama, Gadaffi - they did not just "happen." They were "made." Who messed them up? Who taught them evil? Who made them into the monsters they became?
That is why God weeps when they fall. They could have been so different. They could have "used their powers for good instead of evil."
After Star Wars came out in 1977, we all hated Darth Vader. He was the embodiment of pure evil. By the time Return of the Jedi came out in 1983, we were hoping Luke was right and something good still lived behind the mask. After the last three movies were released, and we saw the morphing of Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader, we gained a deeper understanding into his character. Now, when we watch the original Star Wars, Darth Vader doesn't seem quite so scary. We look at him, and we remember little Anakin who won the speeder race on Tatooine.
I think that must be God's perspective as well... He looks at Osama and sees the little boy he once was and the man he could have become. And since God does not rejoice over his demise, I cannot either.
But emotions are running high, and they are mixed. I do understand WHY most of America is rejoicing... We are all experiencing relief, vindication for loss lives, a sense of justice. We are more hopeful that our men and women fighting in Afghanistan will return home sooner. We are joyful that oppression of the Arab world may be lessened now. We pray for the demise of the Taliban now that they have lost their leader. There are many positive feelings the death of Osama produces. And there is a deep sense of gratitude to those Navy Seals who risked their lives to bring an end to an evil regime.
I am also pondering another statement. Jesus said, "Behold, I make all things new." So in the midst of all these mixed emotions, I turn my face to the sun, breathe deeply, and wait for the day when ALL things are new... But what if, when that day comes, Judas, Hitler, Osama are all there -- restored, new, doing what they were originally created for before they were tainted? What if Dahmer and Bundy and Timothy McVey are all there, too? Would we be grateful that we serve and love a God who truly makes all things new? Or would we be angry to share the kingdom with people who screwed up so horribly the first time around?
I loved the end of The Return of the Jedi when the spirit of Anakin Skywalker, once again dressed in the robes of a Jedi, stands with the spirits of Obi Wan and Yoda. Despite it all, Anakin has been restored. And while all the rest of the universe is celebrating over the end of an evil regime, Luke quietly smiles because a much bigger battle has been won.
I believe in that God...
"God does not delight in the death of the wicked." The weight of that statement bears down on me today. I know God (according to the Bible) often commanded that certain enemies be wiped out. But even David wept when his long time enemy, Saul, was finally killed. He even wrote a poem about him.
God sees our enemies before they become our enemies. God saw little Adolph in Austria at his mother's knee. God saw Osama the day he was born. Gaddafi, Idi Amin, Stalin, Mussolini - the list goes on. God saw them all, and God knew them. They were His creation, and they delighted Him just because they lived...
God also saw when it all started to go bad -- the abuse, the misleading teacher, the wicked mentor, the false propaganda. God saw it all as the innocence of youth was lost and perversity set it. I watch the Super Nanny (when I can stomach it), and I marvel at these horrid little children and the parents that put up with them. Then I think - Hitler, Osama, Gadaffi - they did not just "happen." They were "made." Who messed them up? Who taught them evil? Who made them into the monsters they became?
That is why God weeps when they fall. They could have been so different. They could have "used their powers for good instead of evil."
After Star Wars came out in 1977, we all hated Darth Vader. He was the embodiment of pure evil. By the time Return of the Jedi came out in 1983, we were hoping Luke was right and something good still lived behind the mask. After the last three movies were released, and we saw the morphing of Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader, we gained a deeper understanding into his character. Now, when we watch the original Star Wars, Darth Vader doesn't seem quite so scary. We look at him, and we remember little Anakin who won the speeder race on Tatooine.
I think that must be God's perspective as well... He looks at Osama and sees the little boy he once was and the man he could have become. And since God does not rejoice over his demise, I cannot either.
But emotions are running high, and they are mixed. I do understand WHY most of America is rejoicing... We are all experiencing relief, vindication for loss lives, a sense of justice. We are more hopeful that our men and women fighting in Afghanistan will return home sooner. We are joyful that oppression of the Arab world may be lessened now. We pray for the demise of the Taliban now that they have lost their leader. There are many positive feelings the death of Osama produces. And there is a deep sense of gratitude to those Navy Seals who risked their lives to bring an end to an evil regime.
I am also pondering another statement. Jesus said, "Behold, I make all things new." So in the midst of all these mixed emotions, I turn my face to the sun, breathe deeply, and wait for the day when ALL things are new... But what if, when that day comes, Judas, Hitler, Osama are all there -- restored, new, doing what they were originally created for before they were tainted? What if Dahmer and Bundy and Timothy McVey are all there, too? Would we be grateful that we serve and love a God who truly makes all things new? Or would we be angry to share the kingdom with people who screwed up so horribly the first time around?
I loved the end of The Return of the Jedi when the spirit of Anakin Skywalker, once again dressed in the robes of a Jedi, stands with the spirits of Obi Wan and Yoda. Despite it all, Anakin has been restored. And while all the rest of the universe is celebrating over the end of an evil regime, Luke quietly smiles because a much bigger battle has been won.
I believe in that God...
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