September 11, 2001
My day began the SAME as always. It was a Tuesday morning, and I was on my way to Bible study via the tire shop. When I walked into the tire shop, people were gathered around the small television in the waiting room.
An airplane had smashed into one of the World Trade Center towers in New York. What in the world? Had the pilot dropped dead? Had there been a gas leak in the cockpit and the flight crew were unconscious? Or had something even worse happened?
I dropped off my keys to the clerk and hopped in my friend’s vehicle. As we rode to Bible study, I told her what I had just heard. Five minutes later we arrived at the home where Bible study was being held that day. We turned on the television, only to find that a second airplane had flown into the second tower. The newscasters were speculating that terrorism had become part of the lives of every American in those moments. We were shocked, but went ahead with Bible study, praying especially hard for those in New York and around the country who would be affected by this tragedy. Two hours later we learned that two more airplanes had been crashed, taking every soul aboard into eternity.
I left Bible study that day with the overwhelming feeling that nothing would ever be the SAME again. I was not alone in my feelings. For days and weeks, television talking heads echoed my feelings, musicians sung songs declaring that the world had changed on 9/11, and we lived a little differently because of it. For a while Americans flooded churches, seeking solace in the Almighty. Our hearts were little more fearful as we went about our daily lives.
Some things have never been the SAME again. We now have to endure long security lines at airports, place our little bottles of shampoo in quart sized bags, and expose our stinky feet so shoes can be x-rayed. We have Homeland Security, terrorist watch lists, and a new vocabulary full of radical-speak.
Two things, however, are the SAME.
First, by-and-large, the hearts of Americans have drifted away from those days when churches overflowed with people seeking God in the midst of tragedy. Our complacency toward spiritual things has returned, and may be worse than before 9/11. God has been shunned from the public square, and Christians are being shunned and persecuted for their beliefs. Right is called wrong, and wrong is called right and we are fulfilling what the Bible says in Matthew 24:37 (The Message):
The arrival of the Son of Man will take place in times like Noah’s.
The days of Noah are rapidly approaching, friends. Without Jesus, the human heart is the SAME.
The second thing that is the SAME brings good news to our hearts.
Jesus Christ is the SAME yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8 (ESV)
No matter how the world changes, Jesus never does. His power is the SAME power that created the universe. His love is the SAME love that sent Him to the cross. His justice and righteousness will banish Satan to the lake of fire. His mercy, grace, and forgiveness are the SAME that were offered to Peter after he denied knowing Jesus ~ three times. The peace that Jesus gave His followers after His death is the SAME peace that is available to you and me today. The boldness that He placed in the hearts of those early disciples is the SAME boldness that He gives us in the days in which we live.
The standards of our world may change, but the standards of Jesus never change. This sameness of Jesus in a world that is ever-changing is the foundation on which our hope stands. Cling tightly to Jesus when everything in your world is changing. He will always be the SAME.
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Linking up today for Five Minute Friday with Kate Motaung.
