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Posted on 09/23/2001 1:20:02 AM PDT by SkyPilot

Steadying the Soul While the Heart Is Breaking

September 11th, 2001: A day when millions of hearts were broken, if not shattered. Who of us will ever forget it? I was overseas when the carnage took place. A few days later, as I boarded the plane in Paris to return home in the aftermath of this diabolical act perpetrated upon America and the civilized world, the silence aboard the aircraft spoke volumes. The flight attendants and pilots represented an industry plundered and abused by lawless men for the slaughter of innocent people. They had colleagues who were used as ammunition to desecrate and murder. Behind me sat a couple whose son-in-law had been killed in the Pentagon attack. Their daughter is left expecting their first child, who will now be fatherless. A Belgian businessman sat next to me in as much of a state of shock as I was. He worked for the International Monetary Fund and well knew that money alone would never be the solution to this carnage.

The Pakistani taxi driver who took me to my hotel in Washington upon arrival said in Hindi, “They trampled our hearts under their feet and then smashed them with their hands…their consciences have rotted.” The immigration officer in Washington looked at my passport showing dozens of countries visited and then reaching out his hand said, “Welcome home, Mr. Zacharias.”

That journey summed it up. With those who hurt with you, there was something in common. With the murderers and those who applaud them, we have no common value. That lies at the heart of this tragedy. The fact is that in a tragedy as complex as this, there are several converging issues. I raise four of them.

The first is cultural. Any time you seek to find a solution of conscience there must be some common ground, a common value and an ultimate rule by which we judge our conduct. With the killers of September 11th the civilized world has none. They are creatures of hate whose anger could never be satisfied except by building a cloud of hell over humanity. I remember a Middle Eastern leader’s answer years ago when asked, “When will the terrorists killing stop in your part of the world?” “When they love their children more than they hate us,” came the reply. Such is the problem with the suicide squads unleashed upon America. Their irreverent lives victimize even their own families, their own countrymen and, indeed, their own faith.

I think it is time to ask some very honest and painful questions of culture. I know this creates discomfort and for that reason I show great restraint. It is easier to skirt around the issues, getting close enough to ask questions about religious fanaticism and cultural attachments. But the bottom line is really a fundamental question to those of all cultures that seek a home in America. Do we love this country? Is our allegiance to this land where we, as strangers, have come because of some shared values? As long as the answer is qualified by some other ethnic or cultural contingency, however noble that may sound, we will never serve this land with our hearts. We will only do so for our pocketbooks. This is one of the most hospitable nations in the world. Are we here to share in its goodness or rape and abuse its kindness?

I have traveled around the world numerous times. I have cast my life and lot here because there is no other place I would rather live. This is now my home and its people are my fellow-countrymen and women. When the immigration officer welcomed me “home” I was too tear-filled to even get one word out. The heritage that we bring from different lands is of extraordinary value but our allegiance must be absolutely clear. This is the land and the people with whom we preserve its most cherished values. Any attempt to by-pass that responsibility will bring destruction.

Does this mean that we will always see eye-to-eye? No. But is it not part of the greatness of this land that we have systems and structures in place to respect one another while providing civil ways of debate and change? Let us make no mistake about it. The murderers had only one passion. Hate. They had only one solution. Violence. The tragedy is they have many in their footsteps. With that reality civil people will have to come to grips. Our lifestyles will be changed because evil demands a response and the response agonizes the tender conscience of good people. We have not seen the end of pain. It is part of the cost of caring and loving.

There is a second issue and that is of religion and its political outworking. Freedom is a cherished ideal. Distributed liberty will always be vulnerable to the heinous acts of wicked men and women. That, by the way, is the very reason the Christian and the Christian faith will always be vulnerable to abuse by those who seek to attack it. America, which could only have been framed from a Christian worldview, cannot make anti-blasphemy laws, but Muslim nations and states can and do. There is a difference and we had better be absolutely clear about it. The Christian cannot legitimately impose his faith across a land. But at the same time we are given a unique privilege. In America no one need fear preaching the Gospel and inviting men and women to trust in Jesus Christ. The same cannot be said in many Islamic nations today. It is a fundamental difference in our commitment to freedom. The message of the Gospel is not compulsion but freedom.

In this lies a crossover between our politics and our faith. Just as the Christian is vulnerable to all kinds of mockery and abuse in the academy and the public square, because there is no compulsion, so also the same possibilities exist for democracy to be abused in a religiously pluralistic society. Is it because democracy and Christianity are identical? Not necessarily. But it is because of a fundamental tenet of self-determination shared by both. With that essential fact, we will always be open to plunder, disrespect, and attack by those who are determined to mock it. It is the price of freedom.

That being so, it is time for the moderate Muslim abroad to speak up. I hear a host of them denying any support of this dastardly act and trying to distance themselves from this criminal expression. We are deeply grateful to them for that. But in the same vein, they should openly condemn their Islamic nations that persecute, control and kill Christians and those of other faiths. Numerous countries in the name of Islam have handcuffed Christians with severe limitations, even killing some for their faith. Why do these moderate Muslims not speak out? Where were they when Bishop Haik was tortured and murdered in Iran? Where are they when ordinary Christians are terrorized by the application of the anti-blasphemy law in Pakistan? I know of people today in prison who are brutalized in Islamic regimes. What may well be the underlying reality is not so much religion as it is power. If moderates are against such use of power then let them publicly take a stand. In fact, their own peace-loving people are under the scourge of their demagogues. I have first-hand information that scores of people in Iran lit candles in their windows out of sympathy for those who were killed in this terrorist act, even though many were beaten and punished for this act. Why does not the Muslim overseas speak out against this evil? Until they do, their voices against terrorism will ring hollow because the seeds of hate are sown long before they blossom to mass murder. Yes there is a religious component and it starts where the breeding ground exists.

The third is the spiritual reminder in this tragedy. The Memorial Service at the National Cathedral, which was planned by our president, will go down in my memory as one of the most moving moments in my life. I was alone in my room in Paris, engrossed in the proceedings. Hearing Billy Graham and our president drove me to my knees in gratitude that we have people of such sensitive hearts in a place of leadership. Watching the closed eyes of members of Congress, Republican and Democrat alike, as they listened to the words of “The Lord’s Prayer” reaffirmed in my heart what a great nation this is. And then to listen to the words of “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” was a stirring reminder that devilish wills can never bring down His Word. Just as the cloud of hate unfurled by diabolical acts was dispelled by acts of mercy and love, so our pain and grief were brought to the Lord of all strength and healing.

One of the verses in that hymn, says:

Did we in our own strength confide, Our striving would be losing; Were not the right man on our side, The man of God’s own choosing: Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus it is He; Lord Sabbaoth His name, From age to age the same, And He must win the battle.

This is a spiritual battle and we must know both what we are up against and what our greatest strength must be. There is a pointed philosophical question that rises from the dust of thousands of graves. We must understand what we mean when we use morally condemning words to describe the slaughter. What do we mean by evil? Evil, simply and plainly, is the violation of purpose. That is what it is. Innocent people used as missiles. A passenger plane used as a weapon. Freedom used for its own destruction. Purpose was intrinsically violated. Which means it is imperative to know what our purpose is as individuals and as a nation, else we will succumb to evil. We have before us as a nation the great and noble call to reconcile law with liberty. The ultimate moral law comes from God. The best expression of liberty is to reverence life. If we have no moral law and do not reverence life then evil disappears in a cloud of self-serving acts. May we be clear in our souls that when we understand our purpose in keeping with our Creator, no diabolical intent will destroy that which God has said will truly set us free—knowing His Word and abiding in it.

The final component is the very real emotional strain in all of this. Seldom have I felt so alone. Sitting in a hotel room thousands of miles away, unable to call home and watching the heinous act again and again brought me to tears beyond description. We have all needed an arm around us…yes, a human arm as well. We have needed the support and comfort of friends, and receiving it has been heartwarming. People all over the world have reached out to us. I was in Thailand when I heard the news. My Thai friends were phoning me repeatedly in my room to express their sadness. The people of the United Kingdom have reached out with arms of love and comfort to every American. Tony Blair and his foreign secretary have minced no words. They will be there for us. Canada, France, Germany, Poland…the list is long. They share our values and shared in our grief. Their comfort will never be forgotten.

In closing, may I share a word from the Scriptures? The Psalmist wrote some despondent words three thousand years ago. They are found in Psalm 74. He describes his heart overwhelmed by grief when his enemies smashed everything that was sacred to him.

Your foes roared into the place where you met with us; They set up their standards as signs They behaved like men wielding axes to cut through a thicket of trees. They smashed all the carved panel with their axes and hatchets. They burned your sanctuary to the ground; They said in their hearts “We will crush them completely!

In utter despair he mourned all that was lost and then said that there was no more a voice in the land to help them know where the end of all of this was.

We can draw both a parallel and a contrast. Things we treasure have been plundered. But thank God we are not left without voices and without hope. On the way home one flight attendant came and talked with me. When she found out what I did in my calling in life, she grabbed my hand and said, “Thanks for coming home.” Another businessman who stood in line next to me waiting to get a ticket said halfway through our conversation, “I hope I get a seat next to you.” Seldom have I seen such a desire to find spiritual hope in the midst of such grief. I happened to be in a famous cathedral in Paris the afternoon when Europe stood still for three minutes at midday to pray for America in her time of need. Even the famed Champs D’Elysees saw life come to a standstill during that time. Thousands were quiet or in prayer. In Psalm 73, we read the words: “When I tried to understand all this it was too oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; Then I understood their final destiny.” That sanctuary of the soul, no aircraft can destroy.

Those are sobering and comforting words. He who went to the Cross gives us His own pillar of cloud and pillar of fire to protect and to lead us amidst the darkness with which doers of evil seek to blind us. May our churches bring hope and seriousness to what God wants of us as a people and as individuals. Only in Him can we find peace and confidence, knowing there is a destiny to which we all move.

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word! What more can He say than to you He hath said, To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

Fear not, I am with thee; O be not dismayed! For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid; I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply; The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.

The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose, I will not, I will not desert to his foes; That soul, though all hell shall endeavor to shake, I’ll never, no, never, no, never forsake. (“How Firm a Foundation,” from John Rippon’s Selection of Hymns, 1787)

Thank you for giving me a home here and for making me feel welcome.

Dear God, hear our prayer. Apart from you we have no hope

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