We
all remember and we always will. Those
decade old feelings of complete shock and overwhelming sadness resurface this
time each year, and we picture the planes exploding and the buildings disappearing
and the people . . . the people covered in ash and grime . . . the people clothed
in confusion . . . the people just like you and me, people who might have been
our coworkers or neighbors or friends, stumbling around in despair through a
city they no longer recognized.
It
seems different this year. The fear isn’t
only a distant memory today. We aren’t
simply honoring the fallen and the heroes of that horrible morning on this
anniversary of September 11, 2001. This
year, we’re dealing with real concern for what it all means now.
Because the people who flew those planes into our buildings and our
dreams? They are alive and well, my
friends, and they claim their job isn’t finished. They live and breathe in lands not so far
away, and their single greatest goal is to destroy the hopes and hearts of
Americans.
I
don’t have a clue when it comes to foreign policy and national security and the
politics of waging war on hatred. I don’t
have any answers. But I have a God who is
truth and I believe every word he says.
And my God says this . . .
Overcome
evil with good. Romans 17:21.
Our
response to hatred should mirror his. We
can hate the evil as much as he does, but we cannot hate the people.
I
am going to pray for our country today.
For the leaders making the decisions, for the brave risking their lives
on my behalf, for the citizens everywhere who, today, are remembering, crying,
worrying.
And
I’m going to pray for our enemies.
Because
God tells me to.
Because
hatred never solved anything.
Because
I believe that in the end, good will overcome all evil.
