Six Years Later...

Today marks the sixth anniversary of the day that changed America forever. I remember vividly where I was when I first heard of the World Trade Center attacks. I was driving north on I-65 (from Franklin to Brentwood) on my way to work when I heard on the radio that a plane had hit one of the towers of the World Trade Center. I called my wife, Beth, and I told her that I didn’t understand how, with all the air traffic control measures in place, that a plane could just fly into a New York City skyscraper. Keep in mind that at this point the thought of terrorism had not entered my mind.

While Beth and I were talking, she turned on the television to catch the live coverage of the first tower burning. Suddenly, Beth screamed out, “Another plane just flew into the other tower! I just saw another plane fly into the other tower!” I knew at that precise moment that something was wrong…something was terribly wrong.

That day was one of the most somber days as the attacks in Lower Manhattan, Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and on the Pentagon in Washington were the topic of every discussion…everywhere you went. Still, though, we didn’t know of the origin of the attacks at that time. I preached that evening in a revival in Columbia, Tennessee, and I couldn’t help but address the issue. I remember preaching from Amos 4:12—“Prepare to meet your God.”

According to George Barna’s research, only 12% of Americans admitted that 9/11 had any impact on their faith. One reason why this may have been true was that barely half of the nation's churches acknowledged or addressed the attacks in any way during the following year, according to church attendees. I’m not sure how a pastor could remain silent in light of 9/11, but…

Let me encourage you to see these days of uncertainty…these days in which our security blankets have been ripped away forever by Boeing bullets piloted by self-proclaimed martyrs…these days in which even children are conversant with the word “terrorism”…I want to encourage you to see these days as great opportunities to share hope in Christ. Hope doesn’t come from the White House or the Pentagon or the United States Capitol. Only God can make sense out of nonsense, and only He can bring hope out of hopelessness. Share Jesus with someone today!