It is hard to believe that we are coming up on the 20th Anniversary of the events of September 11, 2001. That is a day that in so many ways changed our lives and changed our country. I love the reflections in the video (if you haven’t watched it, take a minute and do so). As we reflect back, it is good to remember what we learned that day. So much of what we learned or reminded were things that we never wanted to know. We learned how real and even present evil is. We learned that security can be fleeting. We learned that when we least expect it our very foundation can be shaken to the core. As I think about it, much has changed and happened since that day, and yet much hasn’t changed. The sad reality is that evil, uncertainty, and violence still abound. We turn on the TV and see unrest not just in faraway places like Afghanistan but even in our own communities. Some of the pain and grief and heartache and fear of that day remain in our hearts.
Yet through it all, there is one constant: God. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” No matter if we are walking through life as it was always meant to be or the deepest, darkest tragedies we will ever face; God is still God. God is still on his throne. God still has the whole world in His hands. God is still loving us. God is still victorious. God is still coming again. The last page of history has already been written and on that day, God wins.
I think it is worth remembering that what we see in the Bible is God bring hope out of tragedy. It was out of the tragedy of the first sin that God gave the first promise of Jesus. It was out of the tragedy of the flood that God gave the promise to never destroy the whole earth through the waters of a flood again. It was after years of waiting and hoping for a child that God finally gave Abraham and Sarah a son who would be in the genealogy of Jesus. It was out of the tragedy of Joseph being sold into slavery by his brothers that his brothers were saved from starvation along with the entire nation of Egypt. And this is just the book of Genesis. But this is seen most powerfully on the cross. It was a tragedy that the sinless, perfect Son of God hung on a tree forsaken by the Father, crucified by the Romans, having given up his spirit. But out of the tragedy of the cross, we hear the good news of Easter: Christ is Risen. Because of the cross and empty tomb, we have a sure and certain hope of life and salvation. We are forgiven. We are redeemed. We are made a part of God’s family.
In an ever changing world, this is truth: Evil is real, but so is God. There is tragedy, but with God, there is always hope. In the midst of constant change, there is a constant: God and His unending love for us. We do not have to despair, but can put our faith, hope, and trust in God who will never leave us or forsake us.
