9/11

September 11, 2001 - the words of President Franklin D. Roosevelt rang true at that moment just as they did in their original context on December 8, 1941, a day after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor: "It was a day which will live in infamy."  

I was in my high school art class when the towers were struck.  It was just another Tuesday, and as we all know, Tuesdays are normally the more mundane, boring days of the average work/school week.  My classmates and I were working on an assignment, I believe it was something involving painting, however the activity of the class period is a blur due to what would happen in the middle of it all.  

Most classes in my high school had tv monitors from years past; I'm not even sure if they all still worked.  But it was on that Tuesday in September that that old tv monitor brought to life the true darkness and depravity that mankind is capable of.  I'm a late 80s/early 90s kid.  Never had our generation seen anything like the September 11 attacks before and we have yet to truly see anything after.  We had grown up in a relatively peaceful world.  

On that particular Tuesday, my biggest concern was lunch and basketball practice.  For others, it was relationships, homework, and maybe some other things.  But everything fell to the waist side in importance and priority when we saw those towers come crashing down.  It was as if the smoke and debris were in our room.  It was as if we were there.

I remember in that very moment feeling anger, and I'll even confess a bit of hatred for the terrorists responsible.  I also recall feeling a greater sense of patriotism and pride in our country than I ever had before.  These were our people!  Those were Americans, harmless individuals who had gone to work like any other day, expecting to put in their time and go home to their families.  And these demented men chose to slaughter them in the most heinous act to hit American soil.  The room was full of shared anger, sadness, and some fear.  We were no longer a generation of safety, peace and naivety.  Our world was now dangerous, unpredictable, and dark.

Every year, we remember the tragedy that took place that day.  We remember the many fallen Americans.  We remember the first responders who worked around the clock to rescue those trapped in the debris, to identify the slain, to put out the fires, and to clean up the mess left behind in the wake of such an attack.  We remember those heroes who tried to stop the hijackers.  We remember.

September 11 put on full display what God’s Word has stated about our fallen world since the beginning:

1) Satan is active in this world, seeking to deceive, steal, kill, and destroy (Gen. 3; Job 1; Jn. 10)

2) Man is totally corrupt and evil at heart, capable of any and all types of evil (Jer. 17; Rom. 1)

3) Horrific events such as 9/11 are a part of the 'Last Days' (Matt. 24)

The question is: Is there hope in the midst of all the chaos we see each day?  Yes.

Only the transformation of the heart through faith in Christ can fix these problems (Jn. 3; Eph. 4).

Only the Light of the World, Jesus Christ, through His gospel, can create in corrupt, depraved man a new heart with new desires (Ezek. 36).

Only through Christ can the lost, evil, desperately wicked heart be born again (Jn. 3).