I Remember

Eleven years ago I held the hand of a dying man. He was a friend and he was gone before that morning was over. I watched on television as less than a thousand miles away an airplane impacted the buildings where several other friends were working. They and many of their coworkers were gone before that morning was over.  I prayed for peace and understanding. I comforted my wife and family at the loss of our friend. I wondered how I could help the families of my friends who died so far away. All before that morning was over.

 My view of life was changed by the passing of my friends. My method of living changed over the next few weeks and months. I was excited to see the resurgence of people calling out to God for deliverance. Then one morning it was over and I was disheartened to see them figure out that they didn’t need God after all. They could do it themselves. They had a plan. They had anger and revenge and pride and they did not need God anymore. They would punish the evil doers who dared to slap the sleeping giant. And they did. They launched an effort to right the wrongs and deal justice to the wicked.

 Pride was injured before that morning was over. Life was snuffed out for many innocent people before that morning was over. Many heroes also perished while serving the victims before that morning was over. The liberty and freedom which allowed the opportunity for this tragedy ended before that morning was over.

 There was a consequence to their vengeful plan which they could not have foreseen.  Life is not without price.  Those who keep statistics tell us that on average somewhere around one hundred and fifty thousand people die each day in the world from all causes. Death, it has been said, is inevitable.  One hundred percent of everyone who is born will die. How long and fruitful each life is often depends on the pride and greed of man.

 I sometimes imagine a conversation between a mother and a child that goes along these lines: “Mama why hasn’t daddy come home?”

“Honey, he will not be coming home anymore he was killed because of the terrorist plane crashing into the buildings on September eleventh”.

“But why Momma? What did he do wrong that he had to die?”

“Nothing sweetie; He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was just trying to make a living to provide for his family and someone else had an agenda that said he was just in the way. That someone said they were victims of an injustice and they had a right to punish the others in the name of their God”.

 “People should not be allowed to take a child’s daddy away just because they are hurting. Maybe we should go fight against them and show them our God is better than theirs and they can’t come into our country and kill our daddy just because they got hurt.”

 “Maybe we should sweetie. But then many more would die and who would be the daddies then? And if our God is greater than their God, then maybe we should pray and ask him to undo the injustice.”

 That could be a conversation played out many times over the last eleven years. It could be an American conversation, or an Afghan conversation or a Mexican or Iraqi or Yemeni or Catholic or Muslim or Christian or… But it is not the conversation I want to be having anymore.

 It is right to exact vengeance on those who have wronged you. Sometimes it is done through a court of law, sometimes through individual acts of desperation to set it right, sometimes through mighty armies crushing a small antagonist. Eventually it has to be enough. Eventually the wrong must be satisfied and the avenger must go home and live life in the residue of their actions.

 The Holy Bible says that man sinned greatly against the Creator God of the universe. The penalty to be exacted for that attack was death to the perpetrator. Jesus the Christ stepped in between the foolish attack of minuscule mankind and the Almighty Sovereign Lord of Glory and said “let Me be enough. And then let us go home”. Then He took the death penalty due to man so that no child would have to ask “Mama why hasn’t daddy come home?” All the daddies who believe God and have trusted that Jesus has paid their price to reconcile them to a Holy God and asked for His divine forgiveness are able to come home each night.