Many today either weren’t born or were too young to remember when the events of 9/11 took place 25 years ago. But many of us will never forget the day terrorists attacked our nation by hijacking & crashing planes. Three were flown into buildings, but the 4th was thwarted by passengers who took back control & flew it into the ground instead of the U.S. Capitol building.
On that plane was a Christian man whose final words, “Let’s roll!” became the rallying cry for fighting back in the war on terror. It was repeated by the President, decaled on hundreds of Air Force planes, & made into songs, “Operation Let’s Roll!” almost became the name for the military action against Al Qaeda. Todd Beamer was celebrated as a national hero, but at our church, we have a more personal connection because his sister, Melissa Wilson, & her husband, Greg, as well as Todd’s parents, David & Peggy, are members here.
On that day, we were listening to the events unfold on the radio in the church office (which was a school building at the time), then I spoke by phone with Melissa. She didn’t think that Todd would be on that flight, but later I called to confirm I heard that it was a plane from Newark heading for San Francisco, as feared. I also remember how calm she was, & still later how proud she was of Todd.
A couple of weeks after 9/11, we held a memorial service for Todd & presented Melissa with a folded American flag & a plaque. One of the TV newscasts came to cover it. Todd’s wife, Lisa, requested that any memorial gifts from people in this area should be given to the Southpoint Building Fund. We broke ground on our phase 1 facility just a couple months after 9/11. About $5,000 flowed in, so our 1st phase facility will always have a direct link to 9/11. David spoke at the building dedication in January, 2023.
Whether you remember that day or not, we all should never forget some lessons. Disasters have a way of pointing out what matters & what really doesn’t. All those things that we think are so important & valuable really aren’t. What matters is people. It’s sad that we don’t realize what a precious gift life is until something tragic happens. Life is fragile & fleeting. We rarely give a thought to the reality that today could suddenly be our last day on earth (James 4:13-14).
In Luke 13, Jesus addresses 2 tragedies in His time. He refers to a bunch of innocent people worshipping at the temple & they were brutally slaughtered. Then he referenced a tower in the city of Siloam that fell on 18 people who died. Did God plan that? Did they deserve that? Jesus says, “No,” but let it be a reminder to get things right with God while you can (Luke 13:3-5).
The Twin Towers in New York fell on many more people, but the principle is the same. God didn’t cause it; evil men did. Our greatest blessing in life is that God’s given us free will. But it’s also our greatest curse because we often choose the wrong thing. And when I choose the wrong thing, innocent people sometimes suffer.
Part of the Lord’s Prayer that Todd prayed on that plane with the phone supervisor includes: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” But God’s will isn’t always done on earth. Do you do God’s will perfectly? Who can say they have? Even when God’s will is done, it’s still in the midst of a fallen world. Sin has corrupted everything, so horrible things will continue to happen until Jesus returns. Being a Christian doesn’t spare us from all the effects of the Genesis 3 curse when God’s will was not done by Adam & Eve.
Bad things happening isn’t necessarily a sign that God is cursing or neglecting you. God promised He’d never leave or forsake us (Heb. 13:5, Ps. 46:1-2, 7). God is still for us even when tragedy strikes (Rom. 8:31). So we should never forget that we need God all the time, not just in crisis. It was good to see our nation turning to God after 9/11. It’s easy to seek God when life falls apart. The President called for a national day of prayer. God was being talked about on TV. Church attendance spiked.
For a while, people were different. They acted more seriously, & were asking the fundamental questions about life & death. But it didn’t last for long. The Sunday after 9-11, I said: “I fear that when life begins to get back to normal, all this talk of God & prayer will fade away. ‘We’re OK now, God. We really don’t need you around anymore. But hey, when the next crisis comes up, we’ll invite you back. But until then, don’t call us, we’ll call you.’” Did we see any real lasting change or spiritual transformation? Americans lapsed back into religious apathy & neglecting church. Calls of “We will never forget!” quickly fell away.
What we should never forget is that safety is an illusion. While our sense of security & vulnerability has never been the same, we know real safety is only found in God & His promises of eternal life (Matt. 6:27-34). So we don’t have to live by fear, but by faith. Christians have access to something that those who don’t know Jesus cannot experience – the peace of Christ. When Melissa & Todd’s mother, Peggy, heard of her son’s death, one verse she clung to was: “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you” (Is. 26:3).
If you were like one of the passengers on Flight 93, & suddenly only had a few moments left to live, would you spiritually panic & begin desperately calling out to God to have mercy & save you? Or like Todd, would you already be prepared to stand before the Lord?