Osama bin Laden (will I ever forget how to spell that name?) is dead. His death is all over the internet, television, facebook, and even small town newspapers. Some people are celebrating, while others [Catholics] are praying for his soul. This is a historical event, to be sure, but no one really seems to know how to react.
Yes, I am glad that Osama bin Laden is gone; but at the same time, I mourn for his soul. I regret that he made the decisions that led him to such a legacy of evil. In his quest to rid the world of infidels (jihad), he orchestrated the bombing of the World Trade Center (1993), the US Embassy in Kenya (1998), the USS Cole, the Twin Towers (2001), the Pentagon (2001) as well as the kidnapping and beheading of Daniel Pearl (a Wall Street Journal reporter) (2002) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osama_bin_Laden] and those aren’t even half of the atrocities he has accomplished, once you look into his militant terrorism in the Middle East. One person has pointed out that “at least his death will help provide closure for the families of his innocent victims.”
Honestly, I believe his death will provide closure for more than just the families killed in Osama bin Laden’s jihad. I believe that every American over 18 (those who were in 3rd grade on up, on 9-11) is a victim of Osama bin Laden. Surely you remember where you were on 9-11. We were all affected when the Twin Towers fell. Our lives haven’t been the same since; just look at the rising gas prices, go through airport security, look into the faces of women who have lost their sons, husbands, boyfriends, or fiancés to the American effort to free others from bin Laden’s tyranny and keep such terror at bay. I myself have lost a loved one to this cause. No, he’s not dead, but his desire to keep America free became his ultimate ambition, so he sent me to find someone who would be able to love me. Not all loses are the result of death.
The war caused by Osama bin Laden’s actions has affected many of us, but the actual events will haunt us for decades to come. Who could forget the people jumping out of windows, the evacuation of schools, a man’s “Let’s Roll” last phone call to his wife, the smoke pouring out of the World Trade Center, watching it fall, knowing that there were still people inside – How could you forget? Should we forget?
The man behind the horror is no longer in this world – his soul burns in hell. He cannot scheme anymore terrors for America. Should we rejoice in a safer world? Yes. Should we rejoice that someone is forever in hell? No. Jesus came so sinners like you, like me, like Will & Kate, and yes, even like Osama bin Laden, would not have to spend eternity in torment. Could you imagine the change in history, if someone had effectively shared the Gospel with the man who would become the most infamous terrorist of our time – Osama bin Laden?
