God's Take

Due to all the hype surrounding the death of Osama bin Laden, this might be beating a dead horse, but it has been weighing on my mind all day.  I journaled about it last night, and my mind can't seem to let it go.

I'm not going to lie: when I heard the news that Osama bin Laden had been killed, my reaction was elation.  I was excited that they finally got him.  I found a live news feed on the internet and watched President Obama's address to the nation.  When he made the official announcement, I wanted to get up and do a happy dance.  Call me a sweaty heathen and lay on the guilt as heavy as you want, but I was (and still am) happy about it and I'm not going to be apologetic about it.

Then I started thinking.  I'm still excited about it; I'm still glad he's finally dead.  But what is God's take on this?  I fear my excitement and elation over a death might be a sin (at which point my unapologetic attitude is going to get me in trouble).  This man masterminded a plot that killed thousands of Americans on US soil.  He has killed scores of others from all different walks of life around the world.  His hate seemed to consume him.  (I read an article today that said he hated the Soviets and communism almost as much as he hated America.)  Yet, God does not wish any of His creations to be lost.  Evil or not, this man was created by God for a special purpose.  Granted, he wasn't interested in fulfilling that purpose and had clearly joined the dark side, but that's what redemption is all about.  What does God think about this death?  I honestly don't know.  If bin Laden's heart and soul were evil, is it good that he's gone?  Does God rejoice when evil is removed from the world?  Or is He grieving the loss of a child?  Justice?  Redemption?  Forgiveness?  Grace?  I don't know.  I would love to hear other thoughts about this.  (But please, be nice.) 

A few final thoughts: What makes a man hate the world so much that he is bent on destroying it?  What drives a man to harbor that much anger?  How could he be so lost?  I know these questions don't really have an answer.  I guess it's just the nature of evil, and it had such a strong hold on him.