When looking back on the anniversary of September 11, we could look over some grand themes. We could talk about and criticize Islam in broad strokes. We could make judgments about our government response, about our current and our past presidents’ actions. We could talk about pride and security. We could talk about patriotic topics, but we may lose some simple spiritual applications in the midst of these broad strokes.
Our Focus
Are we focused on God or on self? It certainly seemed that people came together after September 11, and many people showed tendencies to turn back to God and Christ in the wake of those events. It’s really no different than the cycle we see in the children of Israel as recorded in the Old Testament, and we have to ask ourselves, “Where am I?” Am I closer to God now, or have I drifted again? Do I have the same fire for the Lord now as I did ten years ago?
Hebrews 10:19-25 talks about the type of stuff we’ll do if we are dedicated on God rather than self. Self denial is a key theme in Jesus’ teachings, and we will be holding to that confession, stirring each other up, meeting with each other, and encouraging each other if we can set aside self and focus on God and one another.
Placing the Blame
Do we blame God for September 11? Do we think such an event is God’s will, that it was a warning shot for the United States? We have to be cautious about molding events to fit in with our particular views. We have a tendency to credit God when it lines up with our own values and dismiss such events as chance at other times. Quite simply, we know that bad things happen to good people because of sin, and we should be blaming Satan for such tragedies rather than assigning God motives and actions left unrevealed to us.
Loving Terrorists
Do we really have to love a terrorist? Matthew 5:43 says:
Our Focus
Are we focused on God or on self? It certainly seemed that people came together after September 11, and many people showed tendencies to turn back to God and Christ in the wake of those events. It’s really no different than the cycle we see in the children of Israel as recorded in the Old Testament, and we have to ask ourselves, “Where am I?” Am I closer to God now, or have I drifted again? Do I have the same fire for the Lord now as I did ten years ago?
Hebrews 10:19-25 talks about the type of stuff we’ll do if we are dedicated on God rather than self. Self denial is a key theme in Jesus’ teachings, and we will be holding to that confession, stirring each other up, meeting with each other, and encouraging each other if we can set aside self and focus on God and one another.
Placing the Blame
Do we blame God for September 11? Do we think such an event is God’s will, that it was a warning shot for the United States? We have to be cautious about molding events to fit in with our particular views. We have a tendency to credit God when it lines up with our own values and dismiss such events as chance at other times. Quite simply, we know that bad things happen to good people because of sin, and we should be blaming Satan for such tragedies rather than assigning God motives and actions left unrevealed to us.
Loving Terrorists
Do we really have to love a terrorist? Matthew 5:43 says:
“You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Intellectually, we understand we should love our enemies, but we falter on application. Yes, we should love those who plot to hurt and kill us. We’ve all heard stories of people who’ve forgiven criminals who have wronged them or their family in some horrible way, and that is the mindset we should have. It is the attitude we see when Jesus cries for his murderers’ forgiveness while on the cross.
Conclusion
We may believe that those terrorists deserve death and eternal punishment for their actions, but the tough part is that they deserve such a fate no more than you or I in the face of our sins. We may want to satisfy our own need for vengeance, focusing on self rather than God. Romans 5:12-17 contrasts Adam and Jesus – the one who brought sin into the world and the one who removed all sin by His great sacrifice. The problem of sin is an enormous one, and only an enormous sacrifice could remove it. We have all sinned; we have all put Jesus on the cross.
Where are you with your relationship with and commitment to God? Have you grown stronger? Are you willing to love in the face of personal pain and animosity? We have a great example of commitment, love, and self sacrifice in Christ; and we know that is the example we should be following in our own lives. We don’t have to allow great events of the world to drag us away from who we should be as Christians, so let’s commit ourselves daily to be living sacrifices, to be forgiving and loving individuals, to keep everything in the perspective of God’s word, and to keep God our focus and the center of our lives.
lesson by Ben Lanius
