God's Love Story

On this tenth anniversary of the worst terrorist attack in our nation's history, it feels insincere for me to opine on an event to which I was, in most legitimate ways, a bystander. I didn't personally lose someone on that day. I wasn't there, I didn't experience the events first hand. I was with my Bible study group at our church 1200 miles away when the towers fell and the world as we knew it fell with them.

And yet, there were no disinterested observers, as we all tried to sift through what was happening, what it meant, and whether it was going to continue.

With the advantage of hindsight, we know there were four attacks, four targets, a limited scope rather than a wide scale event. But at the time, it was impossible to predict what would happen next, where the next cries of anguish would rise from the earth. It was frightening for all of us, wherever we were, as the tragedy unfolded in the age of electronic media and its instantaneous video running on a continuous loop.

Each one of the nearly 3000 people who died as a result of the terrorist attacks was an innocent victim of a misguided hatred, a target for those whose primary goal was to hurt our nation, irrespective of the human cost. The victims were a microcosm of the world, a small bit of the humanity that encompasses the globe, hailing from more than 90 countries. The dead ranged in age from unborn babies to an 82 year old woman. Every major religion of the world was represented, dozens of languages, a multitude of occupations and interests.

In the aftermath of that day and the weeks that followed, the takeaway for me was not the hatred which had started the cataclysm, however. As stories of courage emerged to awe and inspire us, I realized that the hate which brought down the Twin Towers was exceeded by the love of the people who were lost that day.

Love energized those who sacrificed their own lives to bring down Flight 93 in the Pennsylvania field. The firefighters who lost their noble battle running up the stairs to save the lives of strangers trumped the cowards hiding behind a distorted faith. Stories of courage at the Pentagon uplifted us at the moment of national crisis. While the terrorists sought to control our attention, the love of those who lost their lives saving others became the focus, both then, and on this anniversary day.

In John 15:13 (NIV) Jesus tells us, "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." It is easy to underestimate this passage, especially without the surrounding verses to place the words in context. It is a simple statement, the meaning superficially obvious. But when analyzed more fully, they speak to his sacrifice in willingly laying down his life for the salvation, not just of those who followed him, but even for his enemies.

No regime founded on hate has ever remained in power for long - it destroys itself from the inside as the evil permeates the foundation upon which it is built. The terrorists cannot take the love of one another away from us. Those brave souls who died saving others are a beacon of hope in a world gone mad. In making the ultimate sacrifice, in giving up everything that matters in this limited earthly life, we see the living example of our Lord and Savior.

When September 11, 2001 is little more than a video file in a history book, I believe that the story will be, not of the hatred which set the events of that day in motion, but of the love which brought about the greatest sacrifice one person can make for another. That love is the message of our Lord, entangled in the stories that really matter from that day.

May each soul rest in the peace of our Lord's love, as we rest each night in their loving sacrifice.