The 9/11 Anniversary

I sometimes wonder why humans are so attached to commemorating anniveraries, and whether this attachment is appropriate. But then I remember that God established the Passover for the express purpose of remembering the mightiness of God in delivering his people from the tyranny of Pharaoh. Scripture does indeed provide sanction for the goodness of remembering important events. And so it is that we find ourselves doing this very thing today.

In the days and years after 9/11, many people said that everything had changed as a result of what happened. I was never sure this was true even in the immediate aftermath, and I'm even less sure today. "United We Stand" quickly became "United We Stood", and at least from my vantage point, it didn't take long for much of our thinking and outlook to return pretty much to where it was before. True, some people's sense of security and comfort were seriously rattled. And for them, I think there has been a more lasting affect.

What I take away from 9/11 is the trueness of Reformed anthropology. What we saw that day and in the days that followed was both great dignity and great depravity. Reformed anthropology is famous for affirming the 'total depravity' of man, which means that in every way, the human constitution has been tainted by sin. Man's physicality, emotional state, reasoning faculties, and desires are all polluted. But what is less known is that Reformed anthropology also strongly affirms the dignity of man that results from humanity being made in the image of God. Dignity and depravity coexist in all of our faculties and war with each other constantly. 9/11 was a vivid example of this conflict and warfare; this enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent that Gen. 3:15 prophesied would be the history of humanity as a result of sin.

It is good and right to remember with deep sadness the tragedy that occurred 5 years ago. As a nation and a world, we should grieve with those who were most directly and tragically impacted by what happened. It is a sad day. As a Christian, today makes me long ever more fervently for the new heavens and new earth, where such tragedies will never take place again. Come Lord Jesus.