9/12

9/12. Nobody talks much about this day. For me, it was probably just as hard a day 10 years ago as 9/11 was emotionally. But in America, 9/12 will not be remembered much.

What was 9/12 known for 10 years ago? Well it was a Wednesday that saw many flags being bought and many churches being called for service times. It was a day of preparation to have a vigil, pray for the families directly affected, but most importantly, continue to help the people in pain and to find out who did it.

What was 9/12 known for this year in 2011? People moving on. People taking down their flags and replacing them with whatever decor they originally had. People trying to figure out where their next dollar is coming from.

9/12 is also a day I will always remember though. I will remember this day because it is a day just like any other day. It is a day that we don't have marked on our calendar. It is a day when we did not get attacked. It is a day when we looked around and saw the smoke clear.

The most powerful prayer I prayed in a long time came last year on 9/12/2010. I was praying for the families of the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and God spoke to me. He told me to pray for the families of the terrorists of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. I did.

Before that day I saw those people as something less than human. I wanted them to perish - to get "what they deserve". But right in God's Word it tells us the contrary: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:43-45).

The people in the countries we occupy don't have a 9/11. They don't have a 9/11 because their 9/11 is a lot like their 9/12 and their 9/13 and 9/14 and 9/15 and... etc. We live in a country where we are absolutely astonished when we are attacked. Some countries have people who live in them that are utterly amazed when there is a small sense of peace. Any day can be their 9/11.

So think about this: when we want to blame the terrorists or the Jihadists or the Al Qaeda or any other group for making our country less safe, we need to really look around and be proud that we live in a free country with so many brave men and women.

The people all over the world need our love. They need an America (and a church) that sets a good example instead of trying to force liberty on them with war. 

And we need an America where the people speak up and tell their government that nobody hates us because we are free and prosperous... they hate us because we are in their land telling them what to do (something we were not so fond of in 1776).

Can you imagine if the government came into our churches and told us we needed to worship a certain way? 

Can you imagine if the government came shopping with us and told us what to buy?

Can you imagine if the British were still coming into our homes, expecting us to not only feed them, but to be happy about it?

If you call yourself pro-life (somebody who wants to see abortion illegalized because it is considered immoral or even murder - which by the way, I do), then you really need to support all life. This includes our troops in undeclared, unconstitutional wars, and the people our troops are killing for the sake of other countries' “freedom”.

Almost 6,000 of our military have been killed in the supposed war on terror. That is nearly double the lives the attacks took on 9/11. Not to mention the trillions of dollar being spent on wars. Think about that. 6,000 American soldiers. Dead. Some argue it would have been more had we not gone over there. I personally think they wanted us over there. Now they have a target.

Have we done good things over there? Sure. But far more harm than good. I have history and our own government reports to back that up. But why do we stay? We claim it is because they are defenseless and helpless without us. It probably has to do more with our government’s special interests.

But however you look at it, if we are really a free nation, we need to speak up and bring our troops home. Occupying countries just makes more terrorists. And if you really want to hear something radical, I am sure the people of the Boston Tea Party and the colonial militia that helped fight the Revolutionary War were considered terrorists to the British crown.

And I am not saying that we should not defend ourselves. I am saying though that what we are doing cannot be defined as such.

In all honesty, we don’t need people afraid of and reliant on the government. We need a government afraid of and reliant on the people.

Now these are just my thoughts on the matter, but I’ve done a lot of thinking about it in the past 10 years. Some Christians say we need the church to get more involved in politics. I could not disagree more. Others say that Christians should stay out of politics. I could not disagree more with that either.

The church needs to stay out of politics and preach the Good News of Jesus Christ. But the people in the church (as Americans) have a constitutional right, privilege, honor, (and I would add) duty to make sure we are being represented correctly and set a good example for the world. If we bear the name of Christ, we should see to it that all we do for our families, jobs, and country reflect His name.

All empires fall. If we continue to nation-build and police the world, we will do what all empires do: fall. We need to restore America back to a free nation, a United States created for freedom.

Why do I care so much about this? Because as a pastor, I would never want the people in my church to have to answer to the government as to what they believe about God. And as a father I want my children to grow up in a free America, with liberty and justice for all. Something they can be proud of.

If we really cared about all people in the world, we would stop the wars, strengthen our nation, and set an example for the people that would make them want to be more like us - not because we want them to, but because we would truly be free. And they would want to be like us. Because freedom is very popular.

(I intended on writing this the day after 9/11, but got sidetracked with a ton of work - but I wanted the title to remain)

 

Comments

[Aaron Berrios]

Incredible! You've touched on my feelings exactly. Almost everything you wrote was thought I had on the 9/11 anniversary. I don't know if we're right, but I do feel strongly about it. I'm so glad I know you. I'm so happy to call you Pastor.

[Hassan]

What the terrorists did was terrible and unforgettable and no true muslim like myself would support these people for killing more than a thousand innocent people on 9/11. I just wanted to say that I liked what you said in this post and hope one day america will stop bullying other countries (I'm from britain americas greatest ally)and also I want to say to the families of 9/11 who feel lost and need some form of justice for what happened on 9/11
be patient "live brave" and keep the faith everyone on this earth will be judged one day and we will get justice.

Matthew 7:2
For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.

"We shall set up scales of justice for the Day of Judgement, so that not a soul will be dealt with unjustly in the least, and if there be (no more than) the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it (to account): and enough are We to take account.
Quran Surah 21 Verse 47