Only seconds after waking up this morning did I hear about “the news” of Usama bin Laden’s death.  Nathan came upstairs and said “Guess what happened?”  My first reaction was “Are they sure it was him?”  Not that I doubt the United States Special Forces…they are remarkable and honorable human beings…but it has taken nearly a decade to find this guy who is at the root of so much hatred and evil and death.  I’ll be honest…I’m really conflicted in how I’m supposed to feel as a Christian.

Right after September 11 I was right on board with defending our nation and bringing those responsible for the horrific attack to justice.  The War on Terror had begun and I was supporting our leaders and our troops for their efforts to keep us safe.  My reaction at that time to this type of news would have been sheer victory…but I’m not sure I feel that way today.

Imagine being the Special Forces solider who was faced with the inner conflict between a direct command to pull the trigger and end a human life for the sake of protecting millions of  others at home.  It seems like a no-brainer…he or she was doing their job and the order was made with much more intelligence than any of us have…but I’m not sure I could do that no matter how much disdain I have for what he has done.  I keep hearing the word “victory”…but is it?

After hearing the news I kept thinking about September 11 all over again and all of the lives lost since then in this war and I’m just sad.  Sad that there are who knows how many people who are devoted to bin Laden’s cause and ready to retaliate who believe with every ounce of who they are that they are doing the right thing.  The right thing!?  For god!  The reason I didn’t capitalize that god is because it isn’t GOD!  God without Jesus isn’t God and He would never condone this evil.  This whole thing is just a travesty and I simply cannot celebrate a “victory”.  I’m heartbroken all over again…for our nation…for those who have died…for those who don’t know Jesus.  I’m heartbroken. 

I know we live in a fallen world, I know there is unimaginable evil but I’m just so grief-stricken…it’s hard to put into words.  How am I supposed to feel?  How do I pray?  Where do I find the answer?  What did Jesus say?  I don’t feel unsafe or fearful…I feel unsettled and disheartened.  I simply need some comfort today in the Truth.  Instead of turning on the news or looking online or listening to the radio, I’m going to have to dig deeper in the Word because “the news” is everywhere!  I need THE Good News of Jesus today!  I think that’s the ONLY thing that’s going to make me see clearer!  The Lord has led me to the book of 1 John today and I look forward to reading it. 

1 John 4:7-21

God’s Love and Ours

 ⁷ Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹²No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

 ¹³ This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴ And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. ¹⁵ If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. ¹⁶And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

   God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. ¹⁷ This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. ¹⁸There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

 ¹⁹ We love because he first loved us. ²⁰ Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. ²¹ And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.