I wrote this four years ago, but after some revision, I thought it would be appropriate to share as today marks fifteen years.

9-11…

We all know what it means.

Fifteen years…

Has it really been that long since we've seen a stir in our nation that has not been equaled since the tragic bombing of Pearl Harbor?

September 11, 2001…

That day…

Our nation united.

That day…

We declared war!

But…

Did we win?

Will we ever be able to tell?

How do we even define victory?

9/11/01

American Airlines Flight 11…

United Airlines Flight 175…

Remember this?

You should…

Imagine being on one of these two planes.

… You know that your plane has been hijacked.

There is nothing you can do.

Your destination and future are both unsure.

All you can do is wait…watch… and pray.

Your altitude lowers.

Two tall towers come into view.

The last thing you feel before your world goes black is this…

The jarring impact of the collision,

The excruciating heat of the fire,

The sharp pain of glass and metal being forced into your body,

And if you were “lucky” enough (and I use this term lightly)

To last that long…

The suffocating feeling as smoke and chemical fumes fill your lungs.

… Is that worth remembering?

But these two were not the only planes worth remembering that day…

American Airlines Flight 77 and all of its passengers next went hurtling into the Pentagon, killing everyone on board.

And then there was United Airlines Flight 93…

This plane was headed for Washington D.C.

But its passengers fought back and were able to alter its course.

Sadly though, the course that their lives were on never changed.

The plane crashed in a field.

The results were the same as the other three planes.

…227

That’s how many innocent lives were lost on those four planes alone…

Nearly 3,000 were lost in all.

3,000 lives ended in a single day with NO just cause!

Now do you remember?

What about those people inside the buildings when the planes hit?

Let’s TRY to imagine what they went through…

9/11/01

Chaos…

Instant chaos…

Smoke…

Fire…

PANIC!

Screaming…

Running…

Suffocating…

Dying…

For some death was instant…

For others it was slow.

There was a kind of “calm” (if it could even be called that).

And then the sudden…

DROP…

As the building collapsed.

The suffering and pain that was endured can never be described through my frail words.

They remain inadequate.

9/11/01

Terrorism did not end that day.

Hatred did not end.

Pain did not end.

The need for love and comfort did not end.

Fifteen years has passed, and the pain is still real.

However... This should not breed hate.

For we are called to love.

In a time of pain, the American people rallied in prayer and love for one another.

My question is this. Why does it take such an act of terror on our home soil to inspire this love and outcry to God? It has been fifteen years. Just as we cannot forget the day, we should not forget the position in which it put us... on our knees.

This day is worth remembering. It should NOT be forgotten. But as we love and pray for those close to home, let us also love and pray for those around the world. Not only in the midst of terror and pain, but in each and every day. For every day is tainted by sin and by pain, and in no way can you know the pain felt by each individual around the world at any given second. You don't know it, but it is still there. Let that not be forgotten.

We are all mankind lost in sin, each one of us in need of love.

Let us not return hatred with hatred, but live as Christ has called, and love... those in pain, and even those from whom this pain finds it source. We have all been hurt. We have all hurt. Hurt is not always visible, but we all experience it.

No matter who you are, where you live, or from what people you descend, you are an image bearer struggling under the oppressive weight of sin, and you need Love. Christ came for all, and not for the few. Show his love to all, and not to the few.

John 13:34-35 (ESV)

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”