“If a calamity occurs in a city, has not the LORD done it?” (Amos 3:6). God has given each of us an allotment of time to live in this world. From the moment of conception to the moment of death, God has determined the times of every human being. In His wise and Holy will, He ordains the days of life for some to be but few, taking the life while still in the womb. To others He gives many days so that the eyes see the changing of times and seasons, and gray hair becomes the crown of glory (Prov 16:31). David said to God concerning his life, “Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them” (Psalm 139:16)-and so it is that God has determined the days of every life. One life is taken in childhood; another is taken in old age. One life is taken in adult years; another is taken in youth.

On September 11, we were particularly reminded of God’s sovereignty over the days of our lives. We were reminded that life can come to an end both suddenly and tragically. We were reminded of the brevity and mutability of life. Could any of us on that beautiful morning have imagined what was about to happen? Could any of us have known that such devastation was about to occur? So then, as we consider the lessons from September 11, let us also consider the things we can learn from such sudden and tragic loss of life. In so doing, the deaths of those thousands will instruct us as to the proper use of the time that God has given. The calamity in the city has come from the Lord for our instruction. What more, then, can we learn from September 11?

September 11 is a call to bring the gospel. Among the many needs of mankind, the greatest by far is salvation in Jesus Christ. Mankind has been separated from God by sin, and only Christ’s atoning death on the cross can bring reconciliation. Without that reconciliation to God, all other comforts in life are temporary and fleeting. “For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matt 16:26). The gospel of Jesus Christ alone brings a lasting hope for time and eternity. He has accomplished redemption and has committed that gospel message to His people: “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Cor 5:20). When Paul had a vision of a man from Macedonia calling to him for help, what did the Apostles conclude? Did they conclude that the Macedonians most needed economic reform? Did they conclude that the Macedonians most needed social programs? No: “And when he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them” (Acts 16:10). So while we have time and ability, let us faithfully proclaim the gospel, for it is the greatest need of man.

Could those who knew the victims of September 11 have imagined on that morning that they would be parted by death? Did those Christians who knew them realize that after that day the opportunity to share the gospel with them would be gone forever? We know not what a day will bring forth for ourselves, for those around us, for our nation, or for our world. We know not how long the opportunity to share the gospel will last. Many people die in the world each day. Upon death, their eternal destiny is set: having once died, they next face the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). With so many on the brink of eternity, the urgency to bring the gospel is great-and if this is true in the normal course of life, how much more when there are acts of war and terrorism!

Even in the midst of bringing judgment to Israel and Judah, God preserved a remnant of people. Though he brought destruction, He sent His prophets to proclaim the gospel to the poor and peace to the captives. Even in the land of their captivity, He sent them prophets to comfort them and to lead them back to His ways. So also we are to proclaim the gospel in times of calamity and judgment. We are never to assume that God cannot or will not bring repentance in the hearts of people. We are to be ready to bring God’s Word to the lost, both in season and out of season. The darkness of events only enhances the need for the light. The world is as needy now as it has ever been, and in times such as September 11, the doors of many hearts are open to receive God’s truth. So let us fulfill the Great Commission by bringing God’s truth to others while we have opportunity. “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations…” (Matt 28:19).

September 11 is a call to love and care for others. We all share a common bond of humanity. What happens to one affects all, and this is especially so among those who are side by side in the same nation. God’s providence for the nation affects the rich and the poor, the man and the woman, the old and the young, the white and the black. In his prayer of confession to God, Daniel said, “We have sinned against you.” Though Daniel was one of the most righteous men on the earth, he recognized that he was a part of his own nation. He recognized that God’s judgments on the nation rightly fell upon him as one of its people. So also those who are counted as God’s people must remember that the bonds of humanity and country link them to their neighbors. Their fate is linked to the fate of the country. Their fate is linked to the fate of their leaders. Their fate is linked to the fate of their fellow citizens. As a nation, we succeed together, and we fail together; we rejoice together, and we weep together; we live together, and we die together. Should this not cause us to have a deep care and concern for our neighbors? Should we not love and care for even the most lost of people in our society? Are they not part of the nation of which we also are a part? Are they not part of the humanity of which we also are a part? Are we not all in need of the mercy of God? Let us, therefore, weep for our nation as Christ wept over Jerusalem. Let us remember our heritage and seek to rebuild the foundations that have been destroyed. Let us love and care for our neighbor, for in so doing, we fulfill the law of Christ.

Many people suffered tremendously over September 11. Many a wife was made a widow; many a man was made a widower; many a child lost a parent; many a person lost a loved one. These types of circumstances are not unique to September 11. They happen every day with little notice. But when they happen on the scale of September 11, our eyes are opened and our hearts are more affected. When we have seen tragedy, even if only through television, we somehow feel it more deeply, and this should lead us to love and care for others. What have we done for those who have suffered pain and loss, whether in a tragedy like September 11 or otherwise? Have we been there to comfort the brokenhearted? -To lift up the downcast? -To strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble? (Heb 12:12). Those who profess the true God should be the first to pray, the first to help, and the first to offer the consolation of God. There is a time for discussion and debate, but never at the cost of compassion. Though the judgment of God falls upon an individual or a nation, God would have His people to mourn with those who mourn and weep with those who weep. Is it not true that God Himself often shows compassion in the midst of His own judgments? For this reason, Habakkuk, though he realized that the judgment of God was sure to come, could request of God, “in wrath remember mercy” (Hab 3:2). And has not God comforted His own people in their afflictions? Has He not helped the helpless and lifted the downcast? Has he not comforted us in our trials? He does so, at least in part, “so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Cor 1:4). Every person has trials and struggles, both outward and inward; every person bears pain and sorrow. Whether widely seen as on September 11 or known only by few, God’s people should be the first to bring the balm of healing to the downcast.

September 11 is a call to make the most of our time. On the scale of time and eternity, life is but a breath. Even those with long lives soon realize that life is as the grass of the field-it soon fades away. Indeed, none of us are guaranteed tomorrow. Christ told the story of a certain rich man who had an abundant crop one year. “So he said, ’I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’” (Luke 12:18-20). Many, as this foolish man, take for granted a tomorrow that never comes. “Therefore, do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day will bring forth. “Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that’” (James 4:15).

We have but a brief time in this world. How will we use our time? When the last breath of life has come, will we be able to look back and say that we have done well? Will we be able to give a good account for the lives that God has given us to live? The evil times in which we live are even more reason for diligence in the use of our time. How many people must be helped and reached! How many labors there are to do in a world that is fallen and corrupted by sin! “See then that you walk carefully, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil” (Eph 4:15).

In making the most of our time, we must pray. Prayer is among the greatest weapons at our disposal, for what can be done to stop the Lord from answering the cries of His people? Though He bears long with them, He will deliver them speedily. He will grant them the desires of their hearts. He will affect change in the world and in individual lives in response to the prayers of His servants-and we must always remember that more may be accomplished in a moment on our knees than by a thousand of our greatest endeavors.

What kinds of things occupy our time? Are they of eternal consequence? Do television, entertainment, business, pleasure, and other things constantly distract us from the more important things of life? Is not September 11 a wake-up call to realize that we have so little precious time in this world? What will we do with that time? Christ’s life was consumed with doing the will of His Father and in accomplishing the work for which he came. At the age of twelve, Christ was already about His Father’s business (Luke 2:49). He already knew that the proper use of His time was in serving His Father. At the end of His ministry, He could say, “I have finished the work which You have given Me to do” (John 17:4). Will we be able to make that claim at the end of our days? Will our lives have been given to the work of God? Will we have made the most of the time? “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph 2:10).

September 11 is a call to trust in God for the future. God’s people are greatly disturbed at the thought of God’s judgment falling on their nation; the thought of national or personal catastrophe is very unsettling. What if our nation does not repent? What if we continue to rebel against God so that He removes our nation from the earth? What if our children grow up to see days of tragedy and sorrow? What if the righteous must endure chastisement along with the wicked? Was it not the case that the righteous Jeremiah endured the deepest heartache as he watched his nation fall? -As he watched the destruction of the daughters of Jerusalem? -As he watched the sacred places burn to the ground and his own people being killed in the streets? Will such a thing happen to our nation? Such thoughts can terrify the mind that deeply contemplates the consequences of rebellion against God.

But God is on the throne. He has been there in times past and will be there for the ages to come. In the year that King Uzziah died, Isaiah saw a vision of the LORD sitting on His throne. At least one purpose of that vision was to remind the people of God that it is God who reigns; His Kingdom cannot fail. Those who are with Him are eternally secure. The Lord has said, “I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it” (Matt 16:18). He has said, “I am with you always, even until the end of the age” (Matt 28:20). He has said, “I will not leave you, nor forsake you” (Joshua 1:5). In the midst of terrorism, wars, and conflicts of every kind, the people of God can remain unmoved because God is their strength. “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1). He will not allow the righteous to be shaken. Though trials should come, He will always be with His people. He will give them strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow. He will show in the end that He is full of compassion and merciful (James 5:11). “Let not your heart be troubled; neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).

Oh Lord, take us not away in the midst of our days! Bring not your judgment upon us for our sins, but bring your mercy in Christ. Help us to bring the gospel into this world. Teach us to love and care for others and to make the most of our time. Enable us to put our faith in You, and to patiently wait for that great and blessed day of Your coming.