Love Your Enemies

Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” says the Lord GOD, “and not that he should turn from his ways and live? - Ezekiel 18:23

      Today's thought branches away from my study in 1 Kings and delves into something that has been weighing heavily on my heart and mind. Yesterday, history was made as Osama bin Laden was finally located and executed, bringing an end to ten years of searching. The immediate response around the world seemed to be one of relief and satisfaction. In the U.S., of course, this response escalated and became one of great excitement and jubilation. The news caused many mixed emotions in my own life, and I have struggled with understanding and maintaining the proper attitude to have as a Christian. In spite of my own questioning, however, I was appalled at many of the responses I viewed from Christians around the world. The gleeful, celebratory responses really rubbed me the wrong way and made me look deep into my own heart. What are we, as Christians, showing the world about Christ?  

 

But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. - Matthew 5:44-45 

 

Are we truly showing a love of our enemy? I am ashamed to say that in ten years of news about Osama I never once prayed for his soul. I never even considered praying that he might find the Truth and turn from his sin. Jesus says that this love and prayer for our enemies shows that I am the child of God. Am I acting like a child of God? Don't get me wrong. Justice was served during that military raid yesterday. God hates evil and rejoices in righteousness. Osama was an evil man who took the lives of thousands of innocent people, and a man who was deserving of punishment for his sins. It is a comforting thought that he will no longer inflict terror upon anyone. The point that many Christians seem to be missing is that Osama's evil and lack of repentance condemned him to eternal torture . How can I celebrate, and take pleasure in, any human being missing Christ and joining the ranks of hell? What does it say about my own heart when I make light of this man's death or make a joke out of these events? If I have become so calloused that I am celebrating someone entering hell then I am no less evil than Osama himself. I am now delighting in the torture and terror of another fellow sinner. I often fail to remember that sin is sin in God's eyes. My daily disobedience is no less reprehensible in the sight of a holy God than Bin Laden's atrocities. I must be careful what I entertain in my heart and mind. 

 

Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. - Proverbs 4:23 

 

I must remember that the world is constantly watching what I say and what I do, looking for a reason to reject Christianity. I fear many have given that reason in the last twenty-four hours. How can I speak of forgiveness when I talk about what Osama deserved? How can I speak of mercy when I revel in the damning of a soul? Can I really show Jesus to the world if I'm standing on a grave waving an American flag in celebration? I think my own heart has become cold and calloused. I believe Christians have lost their focus and forgotten Who they represent. I think if we investigated our own hearts with the utmost scrutiny and honesty, we'd be amazed how much they look just like Osama bin Laden's.