More Than Just “Another” Date

NOTE: This article is what I wrote for the front page of the bulletin this week at Lebanon Road. With Sunday being the anniversary of 9/11, I felt it was appropriate to say a few words about that event. I rarely publish my bulletin articles on the blog, but I felt this one was worth putting on here for all to see.

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Certain dates stand out on our calendar for different reasons. Maybe a date in the spring jumps out at you because it is the anniversary of when you proposed. Maybe a bittersweet winter date is the anniversary of when a dear, faithful loved one passed from suffering on this earth to the glorious bliss of Paradise.

Nationally, we mark certain dates intentionally as holidays, but other dates “become” ones we remember. For decades, December 7 has jumped off the calendar for those who listened and read with horror about the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawai’i. November 22 stands out for many “baby boomers” as the date President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

For nearly all Americans, September 11 stands as one of those dates that has become one of memory. Like December 7 and November 22, it didn’t start out to be any special date, but it has come to mean something very important to us. It was a clear wake up call, and it has changed our nation in a very real way in the intervening, and eventful, decade.

While today is the Lord’s Day, we, as Americans, will take note of that now-infamous date (9/11), and remember where we were, what we were doing, and what we saw. It is only natural, and it is fitting to do so.

Memory is a God-given gift, and it helps us to stay grounded in what is truly important. Today, reflect on those events from 10 years ago, but do not lose sight of even greater events that occurred 2 millennia ago just outside the gates of Jerusalem. Because of those events, we can have glorious memories of a life changed, from one of hopelessness to one of fulfilled hope in Christ.