Love Your Enemy? Including Osama bin Laden?

While fitting with our Western Culture idea of "justice" the picture to the left doesn't quite fit does it?

Yet, if one were to glance about at some Christian blogs recently, one might think this is the kind of Jesus we believe in.

Certainly looks tough, and perhaps a bit cool...certainly more manly than what we are used to...but is it correct?

With the murder of Osama bin Laden, many Christians are dang near rejoicing.  An evil man has been removed from the planet - and some speculate that he is in hell.

Maybe he is, maybe he isn't.  I'm not going to debate that here.

What I wish to bring up is the command Jesus gave us of "Love Your Enemy."

Now, post this (as I have) on some of those blogs and see what you get.  What you get is a laundry list of Bible verses (predominantly Old Testament) pointing out God's wrath and judgement and "destruction" of evil.  Can't argue with the fact those versus exist.

Yet, what does Jesus tell us?

Love Your Enemy.

As in my previous post, this brings up the question of authority.  Does Jesus have authority, or does the Bible.  One or the other has authority.

I'm going with Jesus on this one.

He says, despite what I would rather do, to love my enemy.  No wiggle room, no grey area...it's right there!  Love your enemy.

Now, I don't really care what you can bring to me in the way of "evidence" in the Bible that you might have found that shows that killing OBL was righteous...because, well, I'm going with Jesus on this one.

Take it up with him.  He gave a commandment - follow it, or don't...but don't try fool yourself: he meant what he said.

As a disciple we are to be like our teacher: Jesus.

How many people did Jesus kill?

In fact, he could have killed someone, and he would have been correct, just, and in his divine right to do so.  Yet, well, he didn't.

Of course, this is where you get a bunch of "what if" questions:  what if we didn't fight Hitler, etc.

Those questions, while they may seem to be a valid question, really are shallow in their context and cause us to rule out history and the relationship of cause and effect.

As for violence, sure it may remove a symptom (ie. OBL, Hitler) but it doesn't and NEVER HAS solved a problem.

Also, if ANYONE can find me a list Jesus gives us of all the exceptions to this rule are, I would love to see it.

It's clear, we are taking matters into our own hands...matters that if we were true to our faith, we would leave up to God.  God tells us to do just that.  Yet, we act as if we don't trust him.

Killing Osama bin Laden...

We call it justice...but does God?

Guess we won't know, we decided not to find out.

On What, or who's, Authority?

It has been an interesting week seeing the different responses "Christians" have been posting in regards to Osama Bin Laden's death.  I put the word in quotes because, well on the interweb it's a bit hard to tell who's being real and who's being funny.

Sadly, many of the comments I have read I truly believe to have come from "Christians."  Christians who are happy, and delighted, at the death of OBL.  Some even speculating it was God's will that he be killed.

Yet, the more I thought about it, the more I couldn't agree with them.

After all, Jesus said it bluntly:  Love your enemy.

I posted this myself.  And then came the shots.  No, not too many were mean, some had the notion I didn't have a firm grasp of Biblical teachings - which I will admit too always, until the day I die (shouldn't we all?)

What was amazing was all the "evidence" they pulled out from the Bible to show how killing your enemy was fine, if not justified.

At first glance, I would almost agree that they had a case.  Yet, that would only be true if not for one thing:  Jesus said, "Love your enemy."

There is no question there.  He does not go on to list exceptions to this rule.  He does not list certain circumstances in which killing one's enemy is okay, if not justified.

Three words, couldn't have been plainer.

He wasn't in the middle of a parable.

He was speaking the truth, he was speaking as one with authority.

Which begs two questions we each must answer: Who has the final authority.  The Bible, or Jesus?  And honestly, you can't follow both.

One MUST have more authority over the other.

Either Jesus has more over the Bible (regardless of what it might say) or does the Bible hover above Jesus and he must fit within the front and back covers?

The other question is this:  Did Jesus mean what he said?

Jesus gave NO indication that this was up for debate or that he was using hyperbole.  So he must have meant it, because if he didn't mean it, why would he say it?

He couldn't lie, he couldn't have steered us incorrectly, or he couldn't have been kidding...in fact he seem to go to some lengths to ensure that we understood "Love your enemy" was EXACTLY what he meant when he said it.

Now we may not like this little fact, this tid bit of information because as a culture (especially American) this does not fit well with our view of "justice."

THAT is another part of the problem.  Our brand of justice DOES NOT fit with God's...in fact there is more evidence of "justice" for God meaning giving and helping, than it does punishing.

For if we were truly more Christ-like, we most likely wouldn't have some of the issues now that we feel the need to "punish."

I'm not saying we chuck the Bible.  But when we read and study the Bible, we must keep in mind who has authority over what.

Jesus has the final word - hence we are Christians.

Now, if something in the Bible (seems to) contradict what Jesus taught, we MUST error on the side of Jesus and do some digging and study to find out if the contradiction truly exists.

Loving your enemy isn't easy.  Of course, Jesus never said it would be.  But it IS what he commands us to do, there is no question about that.

If we are to submit to him and his authority, we must submit to this command.  Regardless of what we FEEL should happen to our enemies.

Following Jesus isn't complicated, he does have a light yoke, but it is difficult - especially in this world.

Peace and Love,

Chris