In these last days leading up to the ten-year anniversary of the attacks on New York and the Pentagon, there’s a New York Times interactive map of where people were when they heard the news. Along with pinpointing one’s location, one must choose one of the following current emotions: angry, fearful, hopeful, secure, or unmoved.
As Christians, we might (aside from being unmoved) feel some of each of those things.
Anger: The reason we feel such things is there’s an ultimate standard of justice that’s not merely the byproduct of cultural mores. Jesus was angry without sinning because the rightful use of his Father’s house was being desecrated. God himself is angry about sin; the theological term is “righteous indignation.” It’s ok to feel that about 9/11, as long as we remember that justice is the LORD’s to be meted out.
Fear: It’s a scary world. Sin makes it that way. We also live with the reality that we’re all terminally ill patients—in other words, we will all physically die. The Bible speaks many times of the fear of the LORD. That’s not a cowering, craven fear. Rather, it’s the healthy, wonderful fear that trumps all other fears. The idea is, if we view God as he truly is, and relate to him in Christ as sons and daughters, no ultimate harm can possibly befall us. It’s a happy fear, and the beginning of knowledge.
Hope: If all we did was keep a positive attitude, or try to cloak our hearts in an isolated concept of hope, it would be empty indeed. The great thing about a truly biblical faith is that there’s an object. (It would be more accurate to write, “Object.”) We believe in a living, reigning, real, historical Christ. Because he has defeated sin and death, and now rules dynamically and forever, we can—by his substitutionary curse-bearing on our behalf—be hopeful and free. We have been rescued from sin’s bondage and the heavy weight on our consciences, and also look forward to the hope beyond this life.
Secure: Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ. Not even the most scary, rattling, tear-producing, tumultuous, darkest of sins. Or a terrorist attack.
