Death of the (Un)Righteous

I awoke to the news that Osama Bin Laden had finally met his end in a fire fight in his compound in Pakistan. We have waited for almost 10 years to hear that news, that justice, blind though she may be, finally was served to the man responsible for the deaths of 3000 Americans on that calm Tuesday morning in 2001.

The old saying that you can run but you cannot hide (forever) is true. Eventually, things were not going to go his way and, just like Saddam Hussein, another barbarous villain of our times, his time is now over.

Now, that being said, as a Christian, recognizing the reality of Hell and the torment that Osama Bin Laden is experiencing right now, I have to be cautious about rejoicing over his death. In Proverbs 24:17-18, it states, “Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice, or the LORD will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from him.” The thing that we rejoice in is that God’s Justice was finally served. As it has been said, “the wheels of Justice grind slowly, but surely”. No matter what you thought of Osama Bin Laden, he chose to live his life was filled with hatred and violence towards anyone who held a view different than his own. The decisions he made in this life will follow him to the next life, where, contrary to Muslim beliefs, there will probably not be 72 virgins waiting for him. When it comes down to it, the decisions we make in this life follow us to the next, and yes, there is a next life.

Probably the issue that will either lighten our hearts or haunt us through eternity the decisions we make in the here and now. And chief among those decisions is the all-consuming question, “What will you do with Christ?” I say chief, because the answer to that ONE question will determine where you make your final abode. I believe that people in Hell who had the chance to accept and follow Christ, but chose not to, will be haunted with that question forever.

Whatever you believe about the afterlife, Osama Bin Laden is experiencing the reality of a Righteous, Holy God and he knows what we do not know. He knows what is on the “other side of the veil”. And something tells me that he’s more than a little bit surprised that the afterlife is not all that he expected it to be.

A former pastor of mine retold this quote by Mark Twain. “I’ve never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure.” I am sure that captures the view of many in the West today.