September 16, 2001--
It has been one week exactly Forever 911 will have a different meaning for me. On 9/11 an attack unprecedented in scale was inflicted on the innocent in New York City and in the Pentagon Building, Washington D.C. And war has begun, only slight glimpses of which are yet being shown to the American public, but will certainly be revealed soon. And I shudder to contemplate its effects as I join all Americans, as well as friends I've made around the world including Canada, England, and Uruguay, in grief for the multitude of casualties.
To those of us who have studied the Bible in detail this frighteningly suggests the scene of the coming of that Great and Terrible Day of the Lord. I say this not to sound alarmist as, frankly, the alarm has been sounded by one or another for thousands of years now whenever deep, dark tragedies have struck the globe. The Day will be coming soon enough on its own whether it is next year or next millennium. I mention it because of what it represents: the promise by the God who made Heaven and Earth, and as fantastic as it may seem, personally walked among us even up to the day He was crucified, and even after when the power of the Resurrection brought Him out from the tomb. That promise is that He indeed is coming back again for His own. And that is what is so exciting and frightening at the same time.
The horror is that for those who have not accepted His grace it will be a horrifying day of agony. Read Revelation. I grieve for those who must endure it. The remarkable thing is that He is still calling, still inviting everyone everywhere to accept His incredibly gracious gift of Life. All He asks is that we surrender to Him, accept His gift, come to know Him. And even though these recent events are indescribably painful it is not something He takes lightly, just as He didn't take lightly the voluntary surrendering the life of Jesus to a horrible death on the cross, the death of His only Son. But He knew the consequences, that no one else could vanquish the sin and guilt by which His children were burdened. It only took me twenty-four years of my life to finally comprehend that revelation after trying hard to avoid it. I gave it my best shot, running from Grace toward blind destruction, though my name for it was fun and freedom. Only in 1976 did I find out what freedom really was.
As I suspected, there is a thing that is able to unite Americans and its friends around the world, sadly it is such tragedy. But there will be greatness that rises from the ash. And God's grace will be poured out in abundance in New York City, around this country and the world. But the horror of war will also accompany it as the task of the State to eradicate the evil of Terrorism is played out. These are exciting times; these are fearful times. But for the Bride of Christ the victory has already been won, on a higher spiritual battlefield. You are invited to join His forces and the victors. It took me a long time to find that the stories and history detailed in the Bible weren't myths or fanciful moral tales. Does this sound like your story?