Its a complicated thing to mourn someone bent on evil.
As I rose this morning and staggered downstairs, messy haired, glassy eyed, my farmboy spilled the headline news. And it dripped all over my mind.
A man determined to take American life, outright murder the innocent, annihilate the unsuspecting has met his Maker at the hand of an American soldier.
The death of this “enemy” leaves a quandary of emotions and thoughts to wade through.
Relief. Justice has been served.
Pride. In soldiers who have served well.
And the strangest one to add to the mix.
Grief. A life lost.
I’ve been trying to put my finger on why I’m feeling a little uncomfortable with the jubilation of some. And I remember a passage out of a book that my family read together during Advent.
The scene is the rescue of a little boy named Jotham from a terrible group of men who are determined to take his ten year old life. The men are decidedly evil and the act of killing them obviously was right.
“What plan?” Jotham asked excitedly.Just then the clatter of metal against metal and men screaming drifted through the trees.“That plan,” Nathan said, hanging his head. “May Jehovah be with them.”Jotham gave a little shudder at the sounds of men dying, and Nathan held him even closer….“Decha’s men are dead, ” he said flatly.“But how can you know?”“Because if Decha had won,” Nathan said with just a touch of sorrow, “he would be celebrating loudly. Since it is quiet,” He listened for a moment before finishing, “we know that our friends are in mourning.”“Why mourn for that camel dung? Jotham spat. Nathan stopped walking and dropped to one knee, facing the boy.“Jotham, it is a terrible thing to take the life of another, even when it is necessary. Decha and his men are Jehovah’s children, even if they don’t act like it. To take their lives was a sad and difficult thing. (They) mourn that it was a necessary thing to do.…..“Jehovah, forgive your servants,” (Caleb) said softly, “for what we have had to do on this night. Judge the spirits of these men as you will, and judge us in light of your mercy.”All the men said, “Selah,” then they stood and, on by one…Selah, indeed.I will be processing through this with my oldest tonight and will bring out this excellent resource again. Are you mulling this over as well? Care to share?
A prodigal lost forever. I mourn for the enemy because my God mourns. He longed for his son to come home, before it was too late. We failed, we did not reach him, he did not hear the Good News, it is too late. And he made the headlines, but there are countless more out there to reach. O, could this spark us to have courage, to reach the lost, even if it means losing our life? Afterall, we already know Him. Isn’t it safer for us to die in His name than for anyone to die not knowing it? My humble opinion… I’ve been unsettled as well – great post!