A Harsh Truth About Sept 11
As the fifth anniversary of 9/11 approaches news reports and all sorts of media outlets remind us at every opportunity that we have experienced something terrible. One report on Good Morning America showcases the children born to widows of victims. It was heart-wrenching to watch as a new parent; I kept thinking about my two little boys and kept imagining not being part of their lives. One kid on the show said her daddy was her special little angel that's always with her. For some reason, that snapped me back to reality.
The fact is, everyone's family would like to think their dead loved ones are in Heaven smiling down on them. You hear it a lot at funerals and memorials about what a good person dead people are and how they're "in a better place." Sometimes pastors have to sugar-coat the truth to say something nice so the family won't be offended.
Unfortunately, many people who died in 9/11 are not "smiling down on us" or "in a better place." It's conceivable that there were many 9/11 conversions, but many people died without salvation that day- it's a statistical fact. I know that hurts. However painful it is to know, being the victim of a terrorist attack is not a one-way ticket to Heaven. The ONLY source of salvation is through Jesus Christ. Those who die without Him spend eternity exiled from God. In Hell. Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
There is no nice way of saying it. This life is just the blink of an eye in eternity, don't spend it away from the source of all that is good. The alternative is unthinkable. Romans 10:9 gives us the answer: "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Don't wait.
The fact is, everyone's family would like to think their dead loved ones are in Heaven smiling down on them. You hear it a lot at funerals and memorials about what a good person dead people are and how they're "in a better place." Sometimes pastors have to sugar-coat the truth to say something nice so the family won't be offended.
Unfortunately, many people who died in 9/11 are not "smiling down on us" or "in a better place." It's conceivable that there were many 9/11 conversions, but many people died without salvation that day- it's a statistical fact. I know that hurts. However painful it is to know, being the victim of a terrorist attack is not a one-way ticket to Heaven. The ONLY source of salvation is through Jesus Christ. Those who die without Him spend eternity exiled from God. In Hell. Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
There is no nice way of saying it. This life is just the blink of an eye in eternity, don't spend it away from the source of all that is good. The alternative is unthinkable. Romans 10:9 gives us the answer: "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Don't wait.
posted by Michael Wiktorek @ 10:20 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home