9-1-1 or 9/11

Yesterday was the 5-year anniversary of the horrible attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. I remember that day..............

I was in a hurry that morning. I was still in school. I was driving from my campus house to the classroom building when the radio said that apparently a plane had crashed into one of the towers. To be honest, my first thought was that it was a little plane, not a big jet-liner. I remembered when a small plane crashed into an office building in Florida a few years before. I really thought it was more of a trivia question than anything else.

I got to class and we were interrupted twice as someone came in to tell us what was really going on. I did not have time on that day to talk with anyone. I had to get to my job. I went from the classroom to my car and listened to the news all the way to work (about 1/2 hour drive). I was in shock about what was going on. I remember hearing the news and wondering how I could stay up on it while trying to order my work-day. I had a project that had to be completed.

I got to work and there was an e-mail announcement that there was continuous TV coverage being shown in the main conference room and that anyone who wanted to could spend their day in that room. I went down and saw for the first time the towers collapse and the horror of what was happening grabbed me. I was in a half-panicked state. Would they hit Kansas City? We only lived 5 miles from the airport. What was going on? Was my family in jeopardy? Question after question flooded my mind, but there were no answers.

There were people at the office who knew that I was a seminary student and they asked for my counsel. I did the best I could, but I encouraged everyone to pray. We needed our Lord to make sense of this.

5 years later and it still doesn't make sense. Why would anyone think it was God's will to kill that many people? How could any human being think that this would be the right or proper course of action? But I must admit, it confirms what I already know. In Psalm 14:1 the Bible says, "...there is no one who does good" (NASB). If indeed "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Then why are we so shocked when sin goes to its logical conclusion. "The wages of sin is death." And certainly the sin of those who hijacked those planes ended in death. They killed themselves and took as many as they could with them to the other side. There they faced the judgement of the Almighty. I know there were some in that crowd that came before God that day that were called goats and others that were called sheep. Some were welcomed into heaven, others were condemned to hell. It is a sad thing to remember.

How many of those who died actually planned to die that day? Very few, I would surmise. How many of those who died were prepared to meet their maker that day? Unknown. What are we doing to prepare people to meet their maker today? We don't know how long anyone has to live. We do know everyone needs Jesus. In many ways, 9/11 became the remembrance of the ultimate emergency call. I hope Christians realize that lost people would dial spiritual 9-1-1 if they knew they were to die in the next moments.

So, on 9/11, let's remember to be the rescuers and to answer the 9-1-1 call to lead people to a saving knowledge of Jesus. That will be the best thing to remember.