BIN LADEN: HIS DEATH A WAKE-UP CALL?

"The irony over this death is that bin Laden and his ilk are so terribly misguided. Immediately after leaving this world, bin Laden was on his knees confessing that Jesus is Lord. He saw the errors of his ways even if his followers here on earth do not--but he can do nothing to rectify that now."


Last night on TV I watched and heard President Obama's statement about the death of Osama bin Laden . . . prior to that, all the major news outlets had already spilled the beans.  Although a victory for freedom everywhere, does bin Laden's death mean that his cause will die with him?  Of course not.  We will see some sort of revenge, to be sure, so we must remain vigilant, ever watchful.  Therefore, I believe it is a wake-up call for all of us.

The irony over this death is that  bin Laden and his ilk are so terribly  misguided.  Immediately after leaving this world, bin Laden was on his knees confessing that Jesus is Lord.  He saw the errors of his ways even if his followers here on earth do not--but he can do nothing to rectify that now.  It reminds me of the following Scripture:


Luke 16:19-31:
Jesus said, “There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed in purple and fine linen and who lived each day in luxury. At his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores. As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores.

“Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, and his soul went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side. “The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity!  Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’“But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish. And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.’“

Then the rich man said, ‘Please, Father Abraham, at least send him to my father’s home. For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them so they don’t end up in this place of torment.’“But Abraham said, ‘Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read what they wrote.’“The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.’

“But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen even if someone rises from the dead.”

My prayer is that this lost world--not just bin Laden's followers, but even our neighbors down the street--will see the light and accept the Truth, much as the Apostle Paul did on the road to Damascus.  God has charged His followers (my fellow Christians and me) to share it with our world.  We are all sinners, saved by His grace and mercy, and we do not claim to be better than those who do not believe--and we certainly are not out to kill those who do not agree with the doctrines of Christianity, unlike bin Laden and those who share his beliefs.  What would be the purpose of that?  How could we then reach the lost world for Christ by killing those who do not believe?

Therefore, we must, with renewed vigor, reach out and share the good news with them.  That is my reason for writing this post.  If you are reading this and do not know Christ as your personal Savior, then today is the day to accept Him.  I am not asking you to join a religion; I am not urging you to follow a set of rules to get to heaven; but I am imploring you to come to the Cross, confess Jesus as Lord, turn from your sin (that we all have), and accept the free gift of eternal life.  Read the Gospel of John in the Bible, which relates the entire Truth.  I urge you to read it today!

Bin Laden is gone from this world, and it is too late for him--he has an eternity to regret his wrongdoings.  But for the grace of God, I would have been where he is now--I thank God for His mercy to me when I accepted Him at age 28.

His offer of eternal life is still open to all who will accept it.