Watching all of the celebrations tonight about the death of the man named Osama Bin Laden, I had a strange thought. What if you died, arrived in heaven, and then saw Osama Bin Laden there?
Osama Bin Laden was a sinner. I am a sinner. In terms of what we both deserve, the punishment is the same.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 (NIV)
I have trusted Jesus Christ as my Savior. Thus, in an act of unimaginable grace, his death on the cross gets applied to my debt. I am forgiven for my sins and receive eternal life.
Jesus also died on that cross for the sins of Osama Bin Laden. As far as we know (which is not very far), Osama Bin Laden never accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. However, if he did so before his death—truly repented, confessed, and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ—he would also receive eternal life (see John 3:16).
How many of us could accept living next door to Osama Bin Laden in our eternal home? I’m not saying it’s likely, but it’s possible. The love and forgiveness of Jesus is that wide. There will be murderers in heaven. There will be rapists in heaven. All of those who have accepted the gift of redemption and enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ will be in heaven—regardless of their actions. The actions that we consider “big” sins, God just considers sin. Jesus died for all sin, not only what we deem big sin.
I realize this post probably won’t be popular. It’s more fun to celebrate and feel avenged for the horrible tragedy that took place on September 11, 2001. I’m not trying to make a political statement. Nor do I want to minimize the terror that we all felt in 2001. I’m also not saying that Osama Bin Laden received Jesus Christ as his Savior; it’s extremely unlikely given what we know about his belief system.
But if Osama Bin Laden spends eternity in hell, it won’t be because his sins were worse than mine—it will be because he didn’t accept the free gift of salvation offered by Jesus Christ.
Scandalous? Yes, the depth of the grace and love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ is that scandalous. No one is beyond the reach of his redemption.
And that is something to celebrate.
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 (NIV)
**If you want to learn more about faith in Jesus Christ and eternal life, please click here.
Allison K. Flexer, Author 
Very well said. Thank you for posting this.
Thanks for reading, Kasey!
I’m so thankful to read this post. I’ve been avoiding reading news on this because it all seems so laced with self-righteousness and borderline hatred. It’s honestly made me sad to see others celebrate the death of a man, no matter how bad that man may have been.
Thanks for offering another perspective.
Shannon, thanks for the feedback. I completely agree with you about the coverage and celebrations.
I agree with Shannon. I feel sad when I see people celebrating anyone’s death, especially when we are pretty sure that that person had not accepted Jesus.
Excellent post!
Thanks, Lorrie! It’s good to see your face around here 🙂 And I totally agree with your comment as well. Love you!
I totally 100% agree with this. Thanks for having the courage to post something that, however unpopular it may be, is so true!! Love you!
Thanks, Michelle! So glad you found my blog. Thanks for the kind words. Love you too!
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This post takes courage indeed! This post also demonstrates the belief of true believers. True believers know that the worst of sinners have been given the free gift of salvation, whether we accept it or not, it’s been offered to us. The fact of the matter is, compared to the righteousness of GOD, we’re all the worst of sinners deserving of death. This is where grace comes in and I thank GOD for it! It’s easy to say that Osama deserved what he got, but what if CHRIST said the same thing about you? Or, what if CHRIST said the same thing about America for killing the millions upon millions of people in other countries and their own for that matter? I definitely understand defending our country but I think there is a fine line between patriotism and hate. It’s a lot to think about, especially for those who claim to serve GOD. Thank you so much for posting this.
Thanks for commenting, Tamarria. I enjoyed reading your thoughts — great perspective!
I feel the same way. I’m glad he is caught but I will not glory in his death.
Found you over at Angie’s blog! Nice to meet you. Following along with you now!
Love,
Traci @ Ordinary Inspirations
http://www.ordinaryinspirations.blogspot.com
Traci, Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment! I just checked out your blog too. I love posts with recipes 🙂 I’m glad we have connected!
you rock!
you do too, sister!