E-Flash From Dan, Remember Sept. 11

How does a Christian respond to the events of Sept. 11th? I’ve thought about this many times, as you all have. And, as usual, Jesus and who He is and what He has done challenges my thinking deeply on the matter.

My thoughts are: Uh oh, we’re not safe after all.
The reality of Jesus tells me: You’ve never been safe and you will never have true safety except in me.

My thoughts are: Revenge! Get those no good jerks who did this to us.
The reality of Jesus tells me: Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you. (It’s possible to do this AND not condone the wrong doing that happened.)

My thoughts are: Terrorism means that life will never be the same again.
The reality of Jesus tells me: In Christ there is full and joyful and meaningful and abundant life, despite the circumstances of this world.

We live in a place that offers us extraordinary freedom and incredible opportunities. We all know it’s not a perfect country, but it is one of the most extraordinary systems of government ever devised and it has provided a way of life and a standard of living that, in many respects, is unparalleled in the history of the world. The wealthiest kings in ancient history did not have the standard of living that an average, middle-class American enjoys today. (I’ll remind you that I’m typing this on my lap-top computer in my air-conditioned office while my MP3 player containing videos and hundreds of songs sits on the desk 6 inches from my hands. . . . Oh, wait, hold it, just a second, my new phone which contains every toy and trick known to mankind is ringing.)

We’ve had to weather some tough times in the past year—and I realize there may still be tough times ahead for many of us, I don’t mean to minimize anyone’s difficulties—but it’s still true that we are privileged to live in an amazing place.

My friend Gary left a post last night on Facebook about remembering the feelings of unity that were stirred back on 9/11/01. That’s a good thought. There really was a spirit of unity and even a love for our country and for each other that happened in the midst of the confusion and anxiety of those sad events. Remember it?

As we remember those who lost their lives and as we appropriately remember that tragic day in our nation’s history, it seems like it would be helpful for us to remember the spirit of love and unity that we experienced back then, too.

I hope you have an authentic sense of God’s presence and His love and His blessing today!