Flesh and Blood

(NOTE: I began writing this around midnight last night, but only finished it this afternoon.)

As I write this, it has just been announced that Osama bin Laden, mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks, is dead. One of the first things that entered my mind upon hearing this news is the words of Martin Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”:

The prince of darkness grim
We tremble not for him
His rage we can endure
For lo, his doom is sure

Like many of you, at first I was thrilled at the news. However, I was then reminded of a friend’s comment: “[T]he symbolic head of the snake has been cut off.”

I remember well my elation when Saddam Hussein was found cowering in a hole and later hanged for his crimes. I feel much the same way tonight. But my joy is tempered by a solemn reminder:

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12)

Solomon once wrote: “When the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy” (Proverbs 11:10). However, he also said:

Do not gloat when your enemy falls;
   when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice,
 or the LORD will see and disapprove
   and turn his wrath away from him. (Proverbs 24:17-18)

Here’s what the ESV Study Bible says about these verses:

“Do not rejoice” reflects the heart of God, who has no pleasure in the death of the wicked (see note on Ezek. 33:11).

Here’s the note on Ezekiel 33:11:

“I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked.” The Bible is clear that God will punish sin and vindicate his holiness and justice. At the same time, God feels sorrow over the punishment and death of creatures created in his image.

I’m reminded of a story I’ve heard my dad tell about Corrie ten Boom, author of “The Hiding Place.” For those who don’t know, Corrie was a Dutch Christian who harbored Jews during World War II, was arrested and sent to a German concentration camp, then was released due to a clerical error. According to Wikipedia:

In her book Tramp for the Lord (1974), she tells the story of how, after she had been teaching in Germany in 1947, she was approached by one of the cruelest former Ravensbrück camp guards. She was reluctant to forgive him, but prayed that she would be able to. She wrote that,

For a long moment we grasped each other's hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God's love so intensely as I did then.

As a distant relative of both George Washington and Patrick Henry, the patriot in me swells with pride at bin Laden’s execution, as it is the extraction of a major thorn in our nation’s side. However, as a Christian, I realize that Osama bin Laden was not “the prince of darkness grim.” The wonderful news is that we do not tremble before the prince of darkness either. His defeat has already been accomplished at the cross (see Colossians 2:8-15). Our victory in Christ will be celebrated when we see our Savior face to face; until then, whether our enemies are temporal or eternal, we need to remember where the real victory is found.