I had a meeting with the oncologist last week and we decided to start chemo on September 11. I was thankful for full energy and good health this past summer, but recently my counts have been increasing rather quickly. So I hope the same approach we took last year will be effective again. As always, we cherish your prayers.
I saw the movie, “World Trade Center”, this past weekend. What a powerful reminder of an unforgettable day in our country’s history. It is a story of courage, faith, and sacrifice focusing on two Port Authority policemen who answered the call to go to the towers. Having just been in the Port Authority, the sights and sounds seemed all too familiar.
September 11, 2001 was a Tuesday. I was in New York City on Saturday, September 29 and witnessed some things I’ll never forget. I didn’t make it to Ground Zero, but I must have walked fifty blocks that afternoon. Every fire station had memorials erected. The pictures of the fallen from each station were placed on location and mourners continued to place flowers on the ground. Each memorial was hallowed ground. On more than one occasion that afternoon, a fire engine answered a call. As it pulled out of the garage onto the city street, everyone stood and cheered… and many cried.
In the movie, the sergeant asked for five volunteers to go with him to the top of the tower. Chills ran up and down my spine as these men re-enacted what actually took place five years ago. “I’ll go.” “I’m with you, Sarge.” “I’m coming”. “Here I am, send me!” Did they know what they were doing? Did hundreds of firemen and policemen know it would be their last rescue effort? “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”
People argue today about the wars that rage. Some wonder whether there really is an enemy that wants to destroy our nation. While honest people may hold different opinions on the best options to take, it seems important to determine whether there is danger. Of greater curiosity are the questions of spiritual battles. Is there really an enemy who seeks to devour? Are we living in dangerous spiritual times? If there is a war, am I really in the fight?
Many have no doubt about such questions. Hearing the Lord of Hosts say, “Who will go?” some have answered courageously: “Here am I, send me!” The friends we visit in Jerusalem recently sent a picture of the four-wheel-drive Toyota we rode in last fall. It was burned inside and out – totally destroyed. They are not fighting Hezbolah; they are teaching Muslims about Jesus. Losing a brand new vehicle is an inconvenience; losing a soul is eternal. The devil does use violence for his benefit, but he uses more subtle tactics in our land – apathy, the pleasures of life, spiritual blindness. Maybe his greatest success is keeping us from realizing there is a war… and from remembering that time is short.
I couldn’t help but think of Jesus when I saw those brave men volunteer to enter the danger zone. That’s exactly what He did!
Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, ‘Here I am – it is written about me in the scroll – I have come to do your will, O God.’” (Hebrews 10:5-7)
“They are bound by sin! They have no chance, Father, yet You desire none perish, but all to have eternal life. Whatever the cost… here I am, send Me!” He’s still searching for His lost sheep. He asks others to follow Him into the battle. He knows the danger and the cost, yet He continues to beckon: “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Matthew 9:37)