September 17, 2001
"... I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. "
Ephesians 4:1
I've been all over my Bible in my time with God this afternoon, thinking about so many different things.. I started in Ps 37 after having heard it talked about twice yesterday. In verse 3 we're encouraged to trust in God and do good in our heart's battle not to fret or worry about evil men and their seeming victories. That got me thinking about why God wants us to do good, why is that the call of the hour? There are a number of scriptures that talk about this; why God calls us to do good and the many benefits we have as a result. We have seen the amazing power of good works in the world around us in the last week. One small group of men perpetrated an incredible evil and though I'm sure there are pockets of very angry, bitter and vengeful people largely what it has spawned is a domino effect of the most incredible acts of kindness, love, heroism, personal sacrifice and a love for one another exemplified in a desire to give of ourselves. It's not limited within our nation.. I was reading in the paper yesterday the list of nations that joined us in a day of prayer and remembrance on Friday - it was astounding... unprecedented acts in our world have occurred in the last 7 days... virtually every nation had a service of some type attended by their political leaders and supported by their countrymen or they observed several minutes of silence as a show of support for the United States. Last night at our leaders meeting in referring to last weeks events as a call back to God; Randy McKean made a point and asked a question that deserves much thought...
"The world became a different place on September 11, 2001.
Have you become a different person since then?"
The scripture above is the one that has touched my heart the most today. The world is responding in kindness and love. The sad truth is it won't last forever. This moment will drift away, people will return to a complacency and a self focus in their lives and drift from God or thoughts of God again. We have glimpsed the hand our great God in the last week... it's so important to make the most of the opportunity before me but more than that to be changed forever by what has happened, to never slip back into complacency myself and always strive to be worthy of what I've been given. There are a lot of things I can't do but what I can do is live a worthy life. Fortunately, the challenge isn't to be perfect, we aren't called to anything we aren't capable of... it's only to be worthy of what we've already been given.