Remember

According to New York Magazine, the total number of people killed in the 9/11 attack was 2,753. That included 343 firefighters and paramedics, 23 police officers, 1,402 employees in Tower One, and 614 employees from Tower Two. At full capacity, the Twin Towers had a capacity of 50,000 workers and up to 200,000 visitors, but on that morning only 14,000 to 19,000 were inside. So the death count went from 50,000 to 6,700 to less than 3,000.

On the 4 aircraft that crashed that day, American Airlines Flight 11 lost 87 people, United Flight 175 lost 60, American Airlines Flight 77 lost 59, and United Flight 93 lost 40. The first plane had a capacity of 158 passengers and 11 crew members. The second could carry 168 passengers and 11 crew members. The third had a 188-passenger capacity and 6 crew members. The last one could seat 182 passengers and 7 crew members. The total potential was 731 souls. The actual total loss was 281.

The fact is that we've pretty much forgotten 9/11. Oh, sure, we remember that it was bad, but we remember badly. Given the huge numbers that should have been lost and weren't, we don't remember how gracious God was to us that day when the towers fell and the planes came down. While the numbers aren't certain, more people died in the Pearl Harbor attack of 1941 than in this event. And I say we've forgotten because we're not grateful for that. Nor are we quite mindful of the fact that there are those out there that consider America the great Satan. While we discount Christianity and discard "conservative" and "religious" as viable in the public arena, we cater to Islam, the religion that brought you around 3,000 deaths in one day. So we're losing our grasp on reality both in the grace of our God and in the danger from those who would harm us. We definitely should remember.

The Bible portrays God as Sovereign. Using Job as an example, we see a structure where God is in charge and Satan is on a leash -- a short leash. When Satan presents himself to God (Job 1:6), God points out His faithful servant, Job. Satan assures God that it's just because of God's protection. So God allows Satan to do harm with limitations (Job 1:7-12). And Satan does. The scene is repeated in Job 2. This time Satan says, "Sure, he's Your faithful servant, but only because You're protecting his flesh." So, again, God allows Satan to do harm with limitations (Job 2:1-6). What is the biblical evaluation of these two events? Job says, "The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD" (Job 1:21) and "Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?" (Job 2:10), and the inspired writer tells us in both cases that Job did not sin (Job 1:22; 2:10). That is, Job was right. Satan caused the pain, but it came from God. And it was good and acceptable. It is on this principle that we can stand, with Job, when painful events like September 11th occur -- truly grievous things -- and thank God. God could have moved those planes before they hit. He could have prevented all of it from happening. We can either wring our hands over a God who failed (and, therefore, isn't God) or we can accept that God allows evil things to occur for His very good reasons and thank Him that He is doing good. The Lord gives; the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Let's not forget.