My Reaction to bin Laden

I'm sure many people will always remember where they were and what they were doing when the news that Osama bin Laden had been killed broke.  I won't because it was Sunday night and, since there wasn't anything good on TV, I was watching DVDs of The Big Bang Theory until I fell asleep on the couch.  But I will always remember the next morning when I logged onto my laptop while the kids watched "The Cat In The Hat Knows A Lot About That" and I saw the horrible man's face on every news page.  The sound of Martin Short singing the happy ditty "Here we go, go, go, go on an adventure..." will forever be associated with the end of an evil man for me.

I was surprised at my reaction to the news.  I have the kind of personality that likes to see people get exactly what they deserve, especially if they've been horrible.  But my response was one of shock then sadness.  I realized that this man was really, really in hell.  He is really, really burning and suffering.  He's being tormented and abused, and it will continue for eternity.

Don't get me wrong.  He TOTALLY deserves eternal damnation.  But in all honesty, we all do.  You see, sin is sin in God's eyes.  There aren't levels or degrees of sin for God.  This horrible man who was responsible for the death of countless numbers of people, this man who used women and children as human shields in order to continue his evil life, is no more or less of a sinner that the mother of three who lied about having a headache so she didn't have to go to zumba last night.  A sin is a sin.  The price of sin is death.  Osama got what he deserved, no doubt.  But he got what we all deserve.

Thankfully, you and I don't have to suffer the same price.  Jesus paid the penalty for our sin.  The penalty for MY sin is my death.  It's not optional.  This fee cannot be waived.  I owe it.  I owe it, and Jesus paid it for me.  He died in my place.  He sacrificed his life for me so that I can live.  All I had to do in return was to thank Him, ask Him to be in my heart and to help me change and be a better person.  Yes, I still sin.  But I have a Savior to go to who forgives me when I ask for forgivness and sets me free.