Today's news that Osama Bin Laden has been killed (and his body taken possession of so that there is no doubt it is him) in Pakistan by US forces is a triumph for retribution and justice. It is an act of revenge for the Twin Towers and the lives lost and spmething that will undoubtedly win Obama approval points.
What it will do for Pakistan, a nation who has been accused of hiding Bin Laden and training terrorists. What it will do for those who engage in terror and what backlash it might bring, remains to be seen.
Beyond the triumphalism the reality is that we need to be praying for:
+ Our forces on the ground in Afghanistan (and for all those engaged in military, NGO and charitable efforts there),
+ The nation of Pakistan, where for many Bin Laden was a hero, that the rule of law and peace is maintained,
+ For the peace of the world, that men will dialogue rather than destroy, build up rather than break down.
Those who live by the sword, die by the sword and the death of Bin Laden (and his son) demonstrates the reality of hatred - death. A good operation by the US apparently well done.
Please pray - this is more than a headline, it's potentially a lighting of a touchpaper as some will look to respond with wicked acts whilst (undoubtedly) others will seek to make capital out of it for their skewed theologies and distasteful utterances.
A time to remember those who have lost their lives and think of their friends and families rather than celebrate the loss of another life.
Pax
5 comments:
And so say all peace loving people the world over.
It is just sad that the sabre-rattlers have the louder voice.
However, neither Hamas nor the Taliban have celebrated the killing of Bin Laden, indeed they have condemned it. Similarly so for many other organisations. I do not believe these organisations could flourish unless they had considerable popular support.
I think Albert Mohler expresses a particularly well-balanced opinion here which points to the incomplete measure of justice as metered out by human beings.
"Revenge has no place among those who honor justice. Retributive justice is sober justice. Human beings tend toward the mismeasure of justice when it comes to settling our own claims. Celebration in the streets is not a worthy response. That looks far more like revenge in the eyes of a watching world, and that kind of revenge just produces greater numbers of enemies." (greatly abridged)
That said, I am very relieved that this badly deceived and deluded man has now gone to account for himself to his Maker. I am not so relieved for his sake that he may have no Saviour beside him.
Totally agree (with you all).
V
I pray that our troops finally come home.
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