“What separates us from the animals, what separates us from the chaos, is our ability to mourn people we’ve never met” (David Levithan, an American young-adult fiction author and editor).
As an American, 9/11 still strikes me. I don’t have a great memory about a lot of things, but I remember well where I was when the first tower was hit and how the news was reporting this very unusual event, trying to decipher what it might mean: Was it an accident? Did this happen on purpose? If it happened on purpose, then why did it happen? How many people were on the plane?
And then, as all this was being discussed, the second plane hit the second tower of the World Trade Center — and then the world knew for certain this was not an accident, but a horrible crime.
For a while, a very short while, people from all walks of American life cried, and even cried out to God for help — the mantra being, “God bless America!” I remember seeing those three words everywhere — billboards along the highways, liquor stores, movie marquees, church signs, etc. It seemed possible that our country was going to make changes about itself.
Well, here we are fifteen years later and it is more than obvious that the good and needed tough changes our country seemed determined to make are distant memories with most citizens. Life has gone on; everything is back to the normalcy that immorality and chaos brings with it. And, as a country, we are generally satisfied with how things currently are.
Politically, many see we’re in trouble when the candidates — not just from the Democratic and Republican sides, but even with the Independents — are presented as the cream of the crop: This is a really bad crop!
As an American, I’m not happy, but I continue to remain thankful that I live in this country because of the remaining freedoms I enjoy. Maybe it’s the half glass full ideal, but again, I’m thankful there’s the proverbial glass and that it is half full.
Now, as a disciple of Christ — a Christian — I assess things differently.
The apostle would remind Christians that “our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself” (Philippians 3:20–21). Or, as the Lord Himself said, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36).
As Christians we would do ourselves an immense service by remembering that “the nations are as a drop in a bucket, and are counted as the small dust on the scales” (Isaiah 40:15). This is God’s perspective, and therefore, it should be ours also. “Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. ‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:6–9).
We need to remember to read God’s word more often and more diligently — looking to apply it to ourselves first. “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). “The heart of the righteous studies how to answer” (Proverbs 15:28).
We need to remember to practice what we preach. We all preach by how we choose to live (Joshua 24:15; Matthew 10:32–33). And if we don’t live it, then we really don’t believe it. “Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Philippians 1:27). The apostle Peter admonishes us to “sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed” (1 Peter 3:15–16).
We need to remember that judgment is awaiting us all — “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10). “Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:32–34).
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