Tomorrow is the Lord’s Day, and today is 9/11. It is an interesting juxtaposition of sacred days, one hallowed by violence, madness, false religion, and sorrow; the other hallowed by God as a day of rest for all creation and of celebration and peace for his saints. One might properly be regarded as a day of fasting, but the other, the Lord’s Day, should always be celebrated as a day of feasting. On 9/11 we remember the many who died under the godless and wicked violence of terrorists, and we honor the sacrifice of many others who gave their lives to resist terrorism that day, to preserve life even at the cost of their own. But on the Lord’s Day we remember something far more sacred, the death of One who laid down his life when godless and wicked men sought to kill him, but who did so as the ultimate sacrifice which would not seek to preserve lives that who eventually end anyway, but which saved souls eternally from wrath and everlasting punishment. Christ did not save us merely from violence or terrorists. He saved us from sin, from God’s judgment, and from the danger we created for ourselves. Our greatest enemy is not Islamic terrorists or the foolish (and wicked) progressives who justify and enable their violence. It is not the world around us or the Devil. Our greatest enemy was always our sinful nature that placed us in opposition to the holy God and exposed us to his righteous judgment. Jesus died to pardon our sins, rescue us from judgment, and deliver us from the sinful nature which would otherwise have destroyed us all.
On Friday morning I attended a local 9/11 memorial, and during a moment of silence, I prayed and asked God for mercy because we (as a nation) have disregarded so great a judgment as he sent us that day. When I reflect on 9/11 and look at our nation today, I see opportunity squandered, divine judgment disregarded, and the rebellion which brought judgment upon us in the first place only growing more explicit. National calamities are warnings from God, and we have rejected that warning and doubled down on the arrogance, irreverence, immorality, and stupidity that brought chastisement in the first place. But as we look ahead to the Lord’s Day tomorrow, we do so with hope. The United States of America will not stand forever, and soon enough they will be divided, if they continue to exist at all. God will shake every kingdom of man until only the kingdom of God remains. He will bring the nations into submission to the Lordship of his Son, or he will crush them into dust with an iron scepter. This is not a reason for grief but a reason for calm, confidence, and celebration. Christ is Lord of all, and the fate of this nation, and every other nation, lies in his hand. We can trust him for our present and our future. Our destiny is not bound up in the liberty, prosperity, or perpetuity of the United States. Our destiny is to be with Christ in glory.
Pray for our nation. Honor our dead and the heroes who gave their lives so that others might live. But honor Christ above all, and pray for the peace of the heavenly Jerusalem. May her walls be strong, her glory great, and her supremacy be seen and acknowledged with reverent joy in all the world. -JME
