9 1 1 -- Devotional for September 11, from "Good Seeds"

Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth. (Matthew 24:41; Proverbs 27:1)

No matter what year it is now, dear reader, chances are good that you know the significance of the brief title of today’s devotion. And no matter your nationality, surely you remember that on this date, 9/11, in 2001 occurred the worst attack from a foreign enemy upon Americans on their own soil in the history of the nation. Nearly 3000 civilians perished when two hijacked domestic airliners were guided like missiles by Jihadist suicide pilots right into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. What a grisly coincidence that the digits of the date match those of the familiar telephone number we use to call in an emergency! And now I join with others in a moment of silence on this, another day “that will live in infamy,” to honor and remember my fallen fellow Americans. But why did it happen? What could possibly have provoked these men to conceive and carry out such a maniacal scheme? As important as those questions may be, another question far more relevant and timely looms before us: “How do we prepare ourselves for sudden tragedy? What can be done ahead of time, so that if calamity strikes, we will be braced and ready?” Today’s two Scriptures are a good starting place. The first refers to an event of unimaginable proportion, when a large segment of the world’s population will disappear, spirited away by God Himself. The second Scripture presents a life principle based on an astute observance of the human condition: We prepare for the future first by admitting we can’t know it! The scenario painted in James 4:13-14 illustrates that principle: “Come now, you who brag on your plans for travel and commerce and financial success. Don’t you realize you have no power over future circumstances?” There are just two many variables out of the range of our clever plans or personal expertise. This is not to say we shouldn’t ambitiously pursue a good and productive life, but we must do it with the full awareness that it could all be gone in an instant. The two women grinding at the mill could be two co-workers in the Trade Center: one gone in an instant, the other left behind, to work another day and earn another dollar. Let these somber truths stand as a reminder to be on the best of terms with man and God, for at any moment you could be saying goodbye to the one while being ushered into the presence of the Other. And if you’re not right with Him through faith in His Son, the horrors of what you endured on earth will pale against the holocaust of what you’ll face for all eternity! In that day, a 9-1-1 call will be no more than a faint and distant memory!