(Originally written for The Baldwin Bulletin: Pastor's Column September 8, 2021)
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good. God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one. (Psalm 53:1-3).
A couple years ago I
wrote about remembering 9/11/2001 on my personal blog, so if your read that and
some of this sounds familiar, that’s why. 20 years ago, I was 12 years old, a
6th grader in South Holland, Illinois, and on my way to school when I heard the
first news on the radio of a plane crashing into the World Trade Center. I
didn’t know anything about that building other than that it was a skyscraper in
New York City. Knowing what skyscrapers in Chicago looked like, I tried to picture
that in my mind—it seemed crazy.
2001 was a time before
social media and kids that age definitely didn’t have cell phones, and so the
day went on like normal for me. Eventually our teachers shared with us what was
being reported. This wasn’t a single plane accident resulting from a mechanical
failure; it was intentional. There wasn’t just one plane that crashed, but
four. These weren’t small planes, but rather commercial airliners filled with
passengers. They had been hijacked by terrorists who were part of an
organization called al-Qaeda.
I turned on the TV when I
got home from school and watched the continuous coverage of the tragic events
in New York City, Washington D.C., and rural Pennsylvania. I started hearing
about Osama bin Laden and Afghanistan. I saw pictures and videos of the fiery
crashes, the buildings falling, people jumping to escape and running down the
street fleeing the cloud of dust and debris. I remember President George W.
Bush speaking to the nation that night about our resolve, and appreciating his
efforts and leading in the weeks and months to come. The rest of that week, I followed
the rescue efforts and the numbers of the injured and casualties. With a firefighter/paramedic
for a dad, the efforts of those at Ground Zero seemed that much realer to me.
The events of that day
changed so much: security protocols, the beginning of a lengthy war, a
heightened awareness of terrorism and Islamic extremism. So many lives were
lost—from the people traveling for business or pleasure, working or going about
their daily lives, first responders, those who fought in Afghanistan, innocent
civilian lives collected in the hostilities, and as a result of sicknesses related
to the debris which continue today. It’s a day and it has been era that will
not be forgotten by those living in it.
Why did it happen,
though? Events like this cause some to ask, “Why or how could a God who
Christians believe to be good, loving, and all-powerful allow for that? To this
day, the only “easy” answer is sin. We can think about the reasons that
al-Qaeda and like-minded terror groups give for their attacks—they make statements
about America and Christianity. Yet sin is not restricted to any national,
cultural, or religious group. Going back to Psalm 53, …There is none who
does good, not even one. That’s not just terrorists; the nature of every
human being pursues evil. We pursue purposes, actions, worship, and dependence
on things apart from the one true God. Obviously, we don’t all pursue that the
same, not everyone is out to commit heinous acts against other people. Nevertheless,
sin is in all of us. The root and cause of all evil is not God; he’s not to
blame.
9/11/2001 showed us sin. We—all
human beings—must ask, then, where do we look for recovery and salvation from
that sin? How can we be changed that our purposes, actions, worship, and
dependence are not against God? Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but
we trust in the name of the LORD our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise
and stand upright (Psalm 20:7-8). Put not your trust in princes, in a
son of man, in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs, he returns
to the earth; on that very day his plans perish. Blessed is he whose help is
the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God… (Psalm 146:3-5).
Our hope, our
forgiveness, our redemption—who or what we put our trust in can’t be military
strength or weaponry. It can’t be in a nation or its leader or who we want to
be its leader. No, the only hope against sin is Jesus and his love shown through
the only perfectly obedient life ever lived, his willingness to suffer an
undeserved death on behalf of others, and his resurrection from the grave. He
is the only one who can save us from the fate we deserve—a fate far worse and
longer lasting than the devastation of any terrorist attack. He knows the sin
and sins of every single one of us, and yet for those who believe in him, he
gives eternal life.
I will never forget what
happened at those towers, at the Pentagon, and at that field. I will never forget
how so much changed on that day 20 years ago and the real pain of those who
have lost loved ones because of it. I will never forget the hope and meaning
that Jesus alone can give to all who trust in him.
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