A few weeks ago my late night TV viewing was interrupted with breaking news: Osama Bin Laden is dead...US Seal Team forces, blah blah blah...I couldn’t believe it. The media had talked up this one man for so long; two presidents had put years of their administration in search of him. I have read numerous news articles about Osama over the years, all wondering where he might be: Is he hiding under a rock? Is he being sheltered by a foreign government? Where is Osama? After 9/11, Osama’s name seemed to be as popular as the president himself and soon the entire west was looking for him. Now, ten or so years later, news reporters are announcing that he was finally brought to justice. Justice? I like that word, but who’s definition of justice? Was justice served to the innocent people that had died by his orchestrated plans? Or was a bigger idea of justice satisfied? Did God receive justice? Many different pastors and church leaders have taken different sides on this issue. But from all the opinions there appears to be two camps: one group that weeps over the bloodshed of a man bound for hell, and another that cheers believing his death is necessary for the protection of the world. The night of this breaking news, my facebook was flooded with status updates. Some cheered, “He’s dead...finally.” Some said, “Rock on America...we killed him. Justice is served.” Others wrote, “I’m so sad he is in hell,” or “I’m crying because this man was failed to be reached with the Gospel.” Reading all these opinions and seeing so many striking reactions made me think: What did God feel? God clearly doesn’t rejoice in the death of any individual (Ezekiel 18:23), and God is love (1 John 4:8, John 3:16). So did God cry? But isn’t He just? Ezekiel says His anger can be satisfied by action. Proverbs talks about God’s laughter during calamity. This is confusing...what is God feeling? Maybe God is feeling all of these things. Maybe God has mixed emotions. That’s it! God is a god that is way more complex than just one emotion and one feeling. God is Holy, Just, Love, Compassionate and Kind. I’m sure when Osama died, God felt a number of emotions because God has a number of different qualities. Now that I think about it....maybe the mixed emotions we often experience are indicative of the fact that we’re created in the image of a complex God.
