God's Pleasure and Pain in Osama bin Laden

With the news of Osama bin Laden's death at the hands of U.S. Navy SEALS this past week a lot of conversation has been sparked as to how Christians should react to such an event. From conversations that I've had personally with friends and family I can say first hand that there are mixed emotions. On the one hand, this is the same man who is responsible for orchestrating the most deadly terrorist attack ever on American soil. On the other, he was a man who had no relationship with Christ and who will now spend an eternity in torment and anguish, separated from God.

So there are clearly two sides to this complex coin from a human perspective, but how does God see it? What does he think about all this?

Ezekiel 18:23–Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?

Genesis 9:6–Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.

On the surface these verses look to be contradictory, but at the heart of them is the display of God's infinite glory and justice! John Piper has a fantastic article on this tension found here.