Terrorism. War. Justice. Peace. Oh yeah and some guy named Bin Laden...

September 11, 2001 was my sixteenth birthday. I know it is a day that we will all remember, but I especially remember this day- a day that started in excitement- carrying birthday balloons and cards given to me in the first part of the day and nothing on my mind except getting my drivers' license at the DMV later that afternoon. But that excitement turned into shock and horror as I watched the World Trade Center Building pour out smoke into the New York City skyline. I was in Spanish class at Clear Creek High School, and our teacher had the TV on as we walked into class. We came in sat down and after everyone realized what was happening no one spoke. Even as Sophomores in High School we knew the weight of what had just happened. The day progressed slowly- each class filled with the same experience. 


I vividly remember going to our baseball class period in the middle of the day expecting to work out. Our coach was a hard-nosed disciplinarian type & I thought for sure he wouldn't "waste time" watching TV- but he sat us down and with obvious emotion in his voice, said "men, you will remember this day for the rest of your lives, we are going to sit and watch this instead of workout today. This is one of those days you realize there are more important things in life than baseball." I didn't think such words could come out of his mouth- "more important things than baseball"? 


But this was and still is. 


The days that followed we learned more and more about the characters behind this devious plot in the 9/11 tragic story. I remember mug shot looking faces of pilots of the hijacked planes being plastered on the TV screen, followed by a particularly ominous looking character by the name of Osama Bin Laden- who evidently was the mastermind behind this plot- followed by videos of his messages to America. I remember thinking- "hate, war, death-- this couldn't have been what God had in mind for humanity."


Flash-forward 10 years... Last night President Barack Obama announced that Osama Bin Laden had been found and killed. 10 years of searching. 10 years of Threat Levels. 10 years of Metal Detectors, Full Body Scans and "random" searches at the airport. 10 years of war. 10 years of more and more death- just as tragic as what happened on 9/11. 

This news has put me in a funk since I watched the reports- it brought back memories of my sixteenth birthday, brought back the feelings of tragedy, and brought back the thought- "hate, war, death-- this couldn't have been what God had in mind for humanity."


My funk may have been pushed over board last night as I watched my Facebook friends & twitter followers post some of the most heinous or insensitive comments in reaction to this story. Everything from "May he rot in hell with that bastard Hussein" to even just celebrating death to people with chants of "nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, hey hey hey goodbye..."or "we are the champions" to insensitive and disrespectful political shots like Photoshopping Obama to look like Bin Laden. People say that "the eyes are a window to the soul" but recently I've thought people's quick-witted comments on Facebook and twitter are a pretty clear window into people's soul and their worldview.


Its been hard for me, because I do remember the tragedy and I do remember the pain, I've "not forgotten" but at the same time- who are we to CELEBRATE the death of any man? I celebrate justice, but not death. I've been reading Isaiah lately in my time with the Lord and my first thoughts this morning were from Isaiah 2 "and they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war."-- how far away are we from this reality? Our idea of "peace" is more death and more war against those that are un-peaceful from our vantage point. It's a viscous cycle.

Then this morning the Lord had me in Isaiah 11 & I read "And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; .... The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord As the waters cover the sea." 


Though I long for it, I've come to realize the hope for peace is one that is outside of man's power- this "nation will not lift up sword against nation" idea will not happen until Christ's return- until "the whole earth is full of the Knowledge of the Lord." 


Come Lord Jesus, Come.
Come quickly.