I was in Seattle, Washington when the twin towers were destroyed that fateful day in 2001.
I was preaching in a crusade and when I made the appeal that night every single person in the audience stood to their feet either to receive Christ or to re-dedicate their lives to His cause.
It continued that way for the next month in Alaska and later when I preached in Edmonton, Alberta.
They were momentous days in which to preach the Gospel. Such attention, such reception, such readiness to listen and respond to the offer of God's mercy and forgiveness.
Twelve years later, the images of downtown Manhattan under clouds of smoke and dust have faded from the public memory; the screams and pandemonium are but a distant echo.
Life goes on and all things have returned to "normal". The challenges of making ends meet, of raising a family, of paying the mortgage, of managing the daily affairs of life have superimposed themselves upon the stark horror and (for thousands) the finality of the event called 9/11.
As for myself, I continue to preach the same Gospel of God's mercy, God's grace and love in Jesus Christ.
Yet strangely enough I no longer enjoy the same rapt attention and focus upon the message that I experienced in those few memorable weeks that stretched from 9/11 to 10/11 and beyond.
Is it that we have simply drifted back into the shallow slumbers of life that easy routine brings upon us all?
If that is the case, pray that we do not receive another wake-up call from God that will remind us that Eternity and the world to come are still but a heart-beat away.
Jubilate
Ian
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