It feels like the world changed completely and irreversibly. And I just don’t know what to think of it. My heart is so torn by the news of the death of Osama bin Laden.
This has been an emotional week for me. I am feeling the same emotions I felt on the day of the Columbine school shooting and on September 11, 2001. I remember exactly where I was on both of those occasions – and exactly how I felt and ALL the emotions that assaulted me. The same is true now, after bin Laden’s death. I know where I was, who I was with and how profoundly it broke my heart.
I am proud to be an American. I really am. But as a Christian, I have a different perspective on patriotism, nationalism, Americanism. Having lived overseas for so long, I view things differently than most Americans. There are some things that I have learned by living outside of my own culture for so long:
First of all, while it is good to be proud of where I come from, I have learned that I had nothing to do with what country I was born in. My earthly nationality was none of my own doing. I believe that God ordained it long before the foundations of the earth were laid. I am grateful for this, but I am acutely aware of the fact that I could have just as easily been born in Afghanistan or Lithuania or Argentina. How can I take pride in something that I had nothing to do with?
Another thing I’ve learned – and this awareness has been heightened this week – is that I am bound to live on this earth, but my real life is in the spiritual realm. Because of this, I have no choice but to view things with a spiritual mindset and not an earthly one. This has been very difficult for me this week – to balance the two.
Here is my struggle: At the very root of my struggle, I don’t understand how killing one man solves any problem. Especially one man who most likely did not know Jesus. I know what happens to people who die without Jesus and I cannot rejoice that Osama is there. No matter how evil he was, I believe that God mourns the loss of even one so evil. He is now separated – FOREVER – from a loving Father with definitely no hope of ever knowing Him. This is a sad day.
On the other hand, this is war and people die in war. My nephew, Nathan, returned from Afghanistan the same day that President Obama announced the death of Osama bin Laden. He is a United States Marine. And I am so proud of him. I am so proud of him for defending our country. It is because of the sacrifice of him and thousands of others that I have the freedom to travel to other countries to tell people about Jesus.
But….
I hate it that people have to kill other people. I don’t know how God views this. And this….THIS is my struggle. I know what God thinks about man killing man, I mean, good grief, this is one of the 10 Commandments! But, what if man is killing man in war? Will that man be held accountable for the other man’s death or is it different if it was done under orders of the government, to which we are commanded to be obedient?
My heart has broken this week as I have heard comments from other Christians, rejoicing in the death of another man. Is this really something to rejoice about? This has shaken me and made me re-evaluate what I think about war, and even the death penalty. I feel confused, to be honest….confused and heartbroken.
Dear Lord,
I know that Your Word says that nation will rise against nation but does that mean you’re okay with this? My heart is breaking over the death of this man who most likely did not know you. I am reminded again of a world that is dying without you. I am determined to see change and regeneration happen around the globe…I am committed to getting your Truth into the world so that no more have to die without the knowledge of You.
curioustraveller said,
May 7, 2011 at 8:11 pm
Oh, what a difficult question. I know that killing one man doesn’t solve a thing, especially not the social, religious and material backgrounds of people that make them become terrorists in the first place. But then, this man was responsible for thousands of victims that had nothing to do with hating muslims – they just belonged to a group of people or a nation he hates. I felt exactly the same mix of satisfaction on one side and regret on the other.
There was a pretty similar case in the sixties, when the Israeli secret service got hold of Adolf Eichmann, the man who organised the practical side of the holocaust in Germany. Now what to do with a man who ordered the murder of millions of people from a writing desk and who showed no sign of remorse at all after his capture? He got executed, and the one who originally led the search for Eichmann said, it wasn’t revenge, it was justice. It made the survivors of that time feel better. Understandable, but still not a satisfying answer.
War is originally not a part of God’s plan. Nor his will for mankind. It is, however, a part of the fallen world we live in, and I hate to say, sometimes it’s a necessary part. I don’t even want to imagine what Europe would look like today if the allies would not have stood up to Hitler and his armies. Every time I visit an allied war cemetary here in Germany or another European country, I am deeply grateful for the sacrifice of every allied soldier (I really am!!), for today we Germans participate in the very Freedom they fought for. My own family history is touched by that war until this day: My mum never got to know her Dad, who fell 8 days before the war ended. She was 18 Months old that time.
War is bad. Always. But sometimes it is necessary to stop a greater evil. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a protestant pastor who was a member of a resistance group, put it: In this world you sometimes only have the choice between two options that are both bad. I believe, that only the coming of God’s new world will end that and I sincerely hope that will be soon. In the meantime I will do everything I can to live in peace with the people around me.
btw: this is Rolf writing, just in case you’re wondering who is behind “curious traveller”.
Roaline Brown said,
May 7, 2011 at 10:28 pm
Thanks Becky for your total transparency. I agree with with what u have said. Somehow I think that the killing in war is exempted because the Israelites too were commanded to kill to take the land.
I cannot really relate to what the Americans are going through at present but I understand their joy even if it is from a wrong perspective.He holds what was taken from them that was dear and what could be taken so they see it as fear removed.We need to continue to pray for one another that we would have God’s heart for everyone, the good and the evil and that our hearts would be tender like yours for those in a lost eternity so that we would not neglect to share with those still alive.Miss u my friend.Love to everyone.