The day that shook America. Will we ever be the same?

There is a hand-lettered sign on Lafayette St. in lower Manhattan, which reads: "You ran in when we ran out. We are grateful forever." On September 11, 2001, as office workers fled from the burning Twin Towers, heroic firemen relentlessly continued up the stairwells to fight the infernos and to save others. None of us will forget that the firefighters headed straight into what became certain death - to save others. As the Scripture says, "No one has greater love than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13)

Yet God's love for man is even greater. God's feeling toward man is clearly stated in John3:16:

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son, that every one who believes into
Him would not perish, but would have eternal life."

Indeed, God's love toward us is the one constant on which we can always rely. The ultimate statement of this love is found in the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. His death is described in Isaiah 53: "He was wounded because of our transgressions; He was crushed because of our iniquities ...by His stripes we have been healed".

One of the many, moving stories that emerged from the Trade Center tragedy is that of a fireman who was running to one of the burning towers, only to be struck by one of the bodies falling from the offices high above. As he lay dead on the ground, his comrades decided to stay with, rather than abandon him. In so doing, they were saved from entering the tower that collapsed soon thereafter. The death of the one fireman therefore saved the lives of his friends.

We are reminded of the love of God that is most clearly manifested in the death of Christ. Romans 5:7-8 says, "For scarcely for a righteous man will anyone die...But God commends His own love to us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." His love is unconditional. What a great love it was, that caused Christ to suffer the death of the cross on our behalf. (2 Cor. 5:21).

The events at the World Trade Center have also resulted in the display of great character by many. But what is it in the human heart that causes people from all walks of life to reach out to each other in the midst of such tragedy?

The Bible teaches that when God created man, He created man in His own image and according to His likeness (Genesis 1:26). Thus, God's intention in creating man is that man would express God in his living and behavior. The Bible also teaches that the essential characteristic of God is love. 1 John 4:8 says, "He who does not love has not known God, because God is love." Thus, man's ability to love, to sacrifice for others, was instilled in him by God. When human beings express love, they express a divine attribute.

How then may we be delivered from the problems of self and sin that keep us from entering into the love of God? The Bible provides the answer in the words of 1 John 4:15: "Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him and he in God." Now is the time for us to know and experience the abundant love of God. For the greatest display of who God is and what motivates Him is found in the death of Christ on the cross. It is through the cross that we may know the love of God.

In these days of sorrow and confusion, we can believe in, and be comforted by, a loving God. Romans 8:38-39 states: "I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor things present nor things to come nor power...nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God; which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Dear friends, we ask you to use this time to seriously consider the love of God, as seen in Christ Jesus. We urge you to open your heart and to pray in this way: