What We’ve Learned From 9/11 (10th anniversary of World Trade Center Attack)
September 11, 2011
Where were you when the world stopped turning on that September day?
Were you in the yard with your wife and children
Or working on some stage in L.A.?
Did you stand there in shock at the sight of that black smoke
Risin’ against that blue sky?
Did you shout out in anger, in fear for your neighbor
Or did you just sit down and cry?
So sings Allan Jackson about the events of September 11, 2001 – ten years ago today – what we now simply refer to as ‘9/11”.
If you are over the age of – say – 18 – and maybe even younger – you remember where you were on “that September day” 10 years ago – September 11, 2001.
Do you remember where you were – what you were doing — and what you felt on “9/11” when you first heard about the attack on the World Trade Center?
I was driving to the Church after an early morning breakfast meeting with some other ministers in a nearby town and listening to the news on National Public Radio when they interrupted a story – I don’t remember what the story was — with the breaking news that a plane had crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.
“That’s strange” I thought. Little did I know what the rest of the morning would hold.
By the time I reached the Church office they were reporting the second plane had crashed into the South Tower and that these were not just small private planes – but large passenger jets. I kept the radio on as I tried to get some work done – and heard the reports of other planes crashing into the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania, the crash of the towers of the World Trade Center, and all the other stories that seemed to occur simultaneously that day. By mid – morning I was on the telephone and computer checking on my nieces husband who was in New York City on a business trip — my niece in Washington – and the daughter of a church member who lived in New York City. By noon I was talking to other ministers and planning a community prayer service for that night.
Like most of you, I am sure, I was torn by many feelings that day – confusion that turned to anger, shock, and a feeling of how unfair it was. The question: “Where is God?” was voiced by man y people that day, and I believe many others may have thought that question – even if they did not give voice to it.
Yea – where were you – what were you doing – what were your thoughts – your feelings – your fears – your anger “when the world stopped turning on that September day” – as Allan Jackson sings?
Once we knew who was responsible for the attacks on 9/11 many people cried for revenge – others cried that we had to bring those responsible for planning the attacks to justice — and many demanded that something had to be done to ensure that these types of attacks never happen again.
Ten years later, the attacks we now know as “9/11” continue to shape our lives.
Our country became embroiled in a war in Afghanistan the following month in an attempt to put an end to Al Queda – the terrorist group that planned the ‘9/11” attacks and other terrorist acts throughout the world. 10 years later Osama Ben Laden, the head of Al Queda at the time “9/11” and mastermind behind the attacks, has finally been killed by our troops — but our troops remain in Afghanistan and continue to die.
A year and a half after “9/11” – in March of 2003 — our country entered into a second war in Iraq to keep the Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein from invading other countries and using the weapons of mass destruction we thought he had . Even though not many weapons of mass destruction were found and Hussein was captured and executed – we are continue to be at war in Iraq and our troops continue to die.
I am sure you all will agree with me that – while the invasions and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq may have been necessary – they have not made the world a safer place. Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein may be dead, but others continue to wreak terror in the world.
Our lives have been changed by the events of “9/11”. Air travel is certainly not what it used to be. I can remember being able to jump out of my car at the Greensboro airport – rush to my plane – board – and be in the air in 30 minutes. With Florence being a smaller airport I am sure you can remember the same. Not any more. Security is tighter. Most people are glad to go through the tightened security that helps make sure our flights are safer, but it truly makes travel more difficult.
Even our daily lives have been changed by the events of ‘9/11”. We tend to watch the news on TV with a heightened sense of fear and not knowing what will happen next. Yes, there were terrorist attacks before “9/11”, but since then we tend to feel that we are more vulnerable and another such attack could happen at any time.
Yea – where were you – what were you doing – what were your thoughts – your feelings – your fears – your anger “when the world stopped turning on that September day”?
The events of September 11, 2001 have truly changed our lives – and our world.
So – 10 years later – I think we need to look at what we have learned from “9/11”?
Some suggested after “9/11” that God was mad at America and that God sent the planes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the ground in Pennsylvania to “teach us a lesson” – to “wake us up” – to shock us and bring us to our knees and bring us back to Him. While it is true that – in many ways – our actions do not please God and we do not live in His ways and many times we need to be shocked into turning back to God – much like “hitting a mule over the head with a 2×4” – I don’t believe that the “9/11” attacks were sent from God – or that the planes were hurled at America by God.
What can we learned from “9/11”?
Here are 3 things I would suggest we can learn from the events of September 11, 2001:
First — We can learn that God is with us in all situations of our lives.
Second — We can learn that God loves us and gives us the ultimate victory in life and over death in Jesus Christ.
Third — We can learn that God calls us to share His love with others as we tell them about God’s offer of salvation through Jesus Christ and reach out to them with actions of love and compassion.
In the chorus of the song I quoted a few moments ago Allan Jackson sings:
I’m just a singer of simple songs
I’m not a real political man
I watch CNN but I’m not sure I can tell
you the difference in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith, hope and love are some good things He gave us
And the greatest is love
Yea — faith — hope — and love are indeed some good things God has given us – and the greatest is love. God’s love is the greatest thing He has given us – and the greatest thing we can share with others.
So – what can we learn about faith – hope – and love from “9/11”?
First – we can learn that God is with us in all situations of our lives.
This is a deep Biblical truth that we all need to remember – especially in the hard, difficult, trying, emotional, and tragic times of our lives. It does not matter how hard things get – how trying things get – how hard things tug on our emotions – or how tragic situations can become – God is with us. There is no situation that can happen to us that can take us away from the love and presence and care of God.
Scripture is clear about this. Paul is clear about this in Romans 8:38-39 when he writes:
38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Nothing is big enough – bad enough – terrifying enough – or tragic enough to keep God away from us. God is with us – in all the situations we have to face in our lives.
Psalm 91that I read a few minutes ago is another of the clear promises of God’s presence in our lives. Listen again to verses 3-6:
3 Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
As a twenty year pilot of a B-24 bomber in the European theater of World War II in 1940 my dad flew many missions over German occupied territory. With every mission the Germans sent fast fighter planes to shoot down his slow B-24 – especially when it was loaded down with bombs – and would shoot anti – aircraft guns to shoot his B-24 out of the sky. Every mission was a terrifying experience and quite an emotional load for a young 20 year old from Rock Hill, SC. Dad shared with me many times as I was growing up that he always kept a small Bible tucked in his flight jacket – and before every mission he flew he would do was read Psalm 91. It reminded him that God was with him – even as he faced the “fowlers snare” or the “deadly pestilence” – or in his case the flack from anti aircraft guns or the gunfire from a speeding Focke-Wolfe fighter plane.
One of the lessons we can learn from “9/11” is that God is with us in all situations of our lives.
Tragic, earth shattering, life shattering, terror – filled events like “9/11” can cause us to wonder if God is with us. When we look at such destruction and death – especially when those who died were completely innocent civilians – we might wonder if God is with us in these times. The problem with this is that – especially in events like “9/11” when people are plotting to strike terror in our hearts — we give them the victory and a feeling that they have accomplished their goal if we lose our faith in God. That’s what they want us to do! They want to take our minds off the truth that God is with us and make us wonder and doubt about God’s presence – because they know that if they can get us to wonder and doubt about God’s presence in our lives in these situations – we might start wondering about God’s presence in our lives in other situations also.
In events like “9/11” and all the tragic events that may happen in your life – and all the wonderful and blessed events in your life – never forget that God is with you – all the time – in every situation.
God’s presence with us in every situation of our lives is indeed one thing we can learn from “9/11”.
A second thing we can learn is that God loves us and gives us the ultimate victory in life and the ultimate victory over death through faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The salvation and eternal life that God gives us through our faith in Christ is the greatest victory we can experience.
This is another deep Biblical truth that we all need to remember – especially in the hard, difficult, trying, emotional, and tragic times of our lives. The tragedies that occur in our lives – the hard things we have to face every day – the things we struggle with – even the most tragic and gut wrenching things we have to face – do not have the last word if we believe in Christ. If we have faith in Christ, God has the last word – and God’s last word is “I love you. I am here for you. I will save you.”
Again — the verses we looked at in Romans 8 a few moments ago remind us that nothing can separate from God or keep God from having the last word or His saving action in our lives. The Psalmist reminds us of this in Psalm 91:14-15:
14 “Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. 15 He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
Of course, this does not mean that God will always save us in a physical way. This does not mean that we will never die. This does not mean that folks who want to hurt us can’t hurt us emotionally or physically – or that folks can not even kill us. We will die. Things will hurt us. People can and do and will continue to hurt us emotionally and sometimes physically – and they can indeed kill us. The Biblical truth, though, is that – if we believe in Christ – the emotional pain and physical pain we might experience in life does not have the last word – and even death does not have the last word. No – God has the last word — and God’s word is love eternal life and salvation. If we have faith in Christ then we have the victory in all the circumstances of life — and even in death.
The first line of our denomination’s Brief Statement of Faith says:
In life and in death we belong to God.
This means that God is watching over us – sustaining us in our lives – and redeeming us in our death.
How do you get that assurance that God is with you – in life and in death? You get it by having faith in Christ and making Him your savior. If you do this, you have the assurance of God’s presence – God’s love – and God’s victory over all situations in life – and even over death.
In events like “9/11” and all the tragic events that may happen in your life – even when something like an illness or someone threatens your life – never forget that you belong to God — and that even death can’t put on end to that!
Three things we can learn from “9/11”:
First – God’s is with us in every situation of our lives.
Second — God loves us and gives us the ultimate victory in life and the ultimate victory over death through faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The third thing we can learn is that God calls us to share His love with others as we tell them about God’s offer of salvation through Jesus Christ and reach out to them with actions of love and compassion.
We can share God’s news that He is with us at all times – and that the only real hope anyone can have in life and in death is the salvation God gives us through Christ. We can share this with others through our words as we tell them about God’s love and the offer of salvation. We can help others prepare for the “9/11”s in their lives – the tragedies and the sufferings and even their impending death – by telling them how they can have the salvation and hope we have in life and death – and inviting them to come to a saving relationship with Christ. We commissioned our Sunday School teachers earlier in today’s service. How wonderful it is to have such loving and caring folks to help our children and adults learn more about Christ and more about God. Let’s all take every opportunity we can to share the good news of Jesus Christ with others.
We can also share God’s love and the tremendous truth that God is with us in all situations of our lives by reaching out to others with the love of God. We can do this all the time – but we can be especially attentive to the needs of others as they go through the hard times in their lives and celebrate the joys of their lives. People are in need all around us. All around us people are hurting and need to know that God is with them.
“9/11” was a tragedy – an act of terrorism. There had never been an event on American soil from which so many people died at the same time. But as tragic and horrific as it was there are stories after stories after stories of brave folks who risked their own lives to help others. God calls us to reach out to others in times of tragedy – and at all times.
So – here are 3 of the many things I would like to suggest we can learn from “9/11”:
First — We can learn that God is with us in all situations of our lives.
Second — We can learn that God loves us and gives us the ultimate victory in life and over death in Jesus Christ.
Third — We can learn that God calls us to share His love with others as we tell them about God’s offer of salvation through Jesus Christ and reach out to them with actions of love and compassion.
As Allan Jackson sings:
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith, hope and love are some good things He gave us
And the greatest is love
Amen.
