Articles
Fifteen Years On
It is hard to believe that fifteen years have passed since the Islamic terror attacks of 9/11. Time itself seemed suspended as we watched the inconceivable happen before our eyes. Thousands were dead; all air traffic was halted; the whole world mourned with America; Christians in many locales gathered on that Tuesday evening for prayer. Nothing seemed the same. We were a nation in shock. And before long something else happened … we moved on.
Oh, we didn’t forget entirely, but here we are fifteen years later still conflicted and in significant denial about fanatical, conscienceless militants bent on destroying Western civilization. And already 9/11 is distant history to a younger generation.
But segue from the most momentous single event of our lifetime thus far to the most significant moment that will ever occur. Jesus was the epitome of divine goodness and purity, yet He was targeted by religious zealots who hated everything He stood for. No doubt many looked at His mangled body hanging on a Roman cross with the same stunned disbelief in which we watched the World Trade Center collapse on itself.
Most of Roman and Jewish society moved on as the crucifixion was not beamed by satellite around the Empire. But the apostles and early disciples did not move on; they kept the message of a sacrificed Savior alive in their teaching and in their changed lives. And so must we keep the gospel alive in a time when most people would rather forget it.
