But He Deserved It

As I reflected on the death of Osama Bin Laden, I caught myself thinking, "but he deserved it."

And in a way, justice was indeed served, in that a person who was responsible for orchestrating such horrendous acts of terrorism paid for his crimes.

However, my mind wasn't at peace. I don't know for certain where Bin Laden stood with Jesus. I am going to assume that He had not trusted Jesus as His Savior, purely based on the life choices he consistently made. That means that Bin Laden is in hell, forever separated from God. He will be there for all eternity, suffering in ways that I don't even want to imagine. Again, the thought, "but he deserves it," jumped into my head. And once again, I was troubled, because of the next thought I had.

"So do I."

Whoa! Wait! Hold on a minute! I have never ordered people killed. I am a good person. Yeah, I mess up now and then, but not with big sins like murder. I'm not like Osama Bin Laden. No way! I have a relationship with Jesus. I am God's child. He chose me to be a part of His family. He loves me.

Yes, all that is true. But I don't deserve any of it! And that's hard to swallow. I want to think that I deserve God's love, that I have earned my place at His table. I like to believe that I am a good person and that God chose me because of the potential He saw in me. But I would be lying to myself.

The Bible tells me that no one is righteous or good in and of themselves.

God lets me know that even my best works are like filthy rags compared to His holiness.

God's Word also reminds me that I am saved by grace, a free gift from God, and not by any works that I have done.

Just today I read in 2 Thessalonians 1:12, "This is all made possible because of the UNDESERVED favor of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ."

What I deserve is hell, right along with Osama Bin Laden, and everyone else for that matter. But because of God's love, and only because of Him, I get eternal life instead. I am forgiven of my sins; my debt is paid in full. I can stand before God pure and complete. Not because of anything I have done, but because He sees me through the precious blood of the Lamb. And that is what I must remember as I try to figure out my thoughts and emotions about the death of Osama Bin Laden.

Yes, he deserved it.

But so do I!

And that brings me to my knees. All I can say is thank You, Jesus! Thank You, thank You, thank You! I know we remembered Your death last Friday, and celebrated Your resurrection on Sunday. But in light of what has happened in the few days since then, the reality of what You did on the cross and the meaning it has for me and my eternity means so much more. So, once again, thank You.