Father Knows Best

The following is my case for proving that God has a sense of humor.

Last night I was scrolling through news on Yahoo! and I came across an article about President Obama's interview with 60 Minutes on the killing of Osama bin Laden. He made a few comments that made me angry at first. The most irksome of these was “Anyone who would question that Bin Laden didn’t deserve what he got needs to have their head examined.” Since I've already blogged about what I think of rejoicing in Bin Laden's death (No Conditions), I won't bore you with it again. So, I was sitting in bed, irked, as previously mentioned, when I realized that the President of the United States of America just told me to have my head examined. I'm not sure why, but I find this absolutely HILARIOUS! How many people can say that they have had Barack Obama insult their intelligence? Okay maybe a lot, but come on, this is cool! I'll admit, my sense of humor probably seems a bit out of whack to some, but I think that's the coolest part. God took what he knew would make me, individually, smile and used it to his glory! And there is my God story for today!

No Conditions

I’m sure you’ve all heard the news by now, it’s all over the place. People outside the White House, the Pentagon, Ground Zero, Time Square, and countless other places across the nation are cheering because Osama Bin Laden is finally dead. Patriotism is higher than I’ve seen it in years and it seems like Mr. President has risen back into favor with the people. Me though, I am caught somewhere between the distant cheers and the cries of murder. I am sure this has brought unimaginable closure to the families of those killed in the attacks on 9/11 and for them I am glad. The part of me that ached for those orphaned children and widowed spouses and hated the ones who made that day infamous is out getting “God Bless America” tattooed on my forehead right now. Another side of me, though, is loathing the distant cheers, the fireworks, the sudden outbreak of red, white, and blue all over the place. Don’t get me wrong, I love my country and I love seeing her honored, but I cannot bring myself to rejoice in another person’s death, regardless of who they are. All of my life I have been taught that the love of Christ extends to all and that there is nothing we can do to separate us from it (John 3:16, Romans 3:23, 8:38). I do not understand how people who claim to live by this love can walk around saying things like "tomorrow is dress up day, we're all wearing bloody turbans." I do not understand how those who worship the God who raised sinners from the dead can celebrate the death of one of his children. It just doesn't make sense to me. One of my friends had a great facebook status that I just must share: "When Americans were killed, the 'terrorists' danced in the street with joy, our country was in horror. Now, we've killed their leader and what do we do? The exact same thing. How does this make us any better? How can we claim to be the 'good guys' when our actions are no different from the 'bad guys'?" Yes, the man orchestrated an attack that killed thousands of innocent Americans. Yes, he is still a child of the living God. In chapter 3, John writes "For God so loved the WORLD..." He puts no conditions on this love. Who are we to place them there?

Last night President Obama addressed the nation on the death of Osama bin Laden. You can watch that video here and decide what you think.