Living Sacrifices in Light of Eternal Hope
Twenty-four years ago, on a clear Tuesday morning, the unthinkable happened. Terror struck our nation as planes were flown into the Twin Towers in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington DC, and a field in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 lives were lost in a matter of hours. Sons and daughters. Husbands and wives. Friends and co-workers.
The grief of that day still echoes. Families live with empty chairs at the table. First responders carry scars in their bodies and in their hearts. As a nation, we remember where we were when the world seemed to stop. Scripture gives us permission, even a command, to lament: “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18). We do not move past such loss lightly, nor do we forget.
At the same time, in the face of terror and destruction, we also saw extraordinary courage. Firefighters climbing stairwells as others rushed down. Strangers carrying one another through the smoke. Passengers on Flight 93 choosing to give their lives to save countless others. Jesus Himself said, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). On September 11, 2001, we glimpsed that kind of love.
And yet, Jesus also calls us to a kind of sacrifice that doesn’t come in a single heroic moment, but in the quiet, daily rhythm of following Him. Paul urges us in Romans 12:1: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
Most of us will never be asked to lay down our lives in a dramatic moment of rescue. But all of us are asked, every day, to die to ourselves. To put away selfish ambition and embrace humility (Philippians 2:3–5). To forgive as we have been forgiven (Colossians 3:13). To bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2). To seek first the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33).
I also want to name a new sorrow that has just come upon our nation. Yesterday, Charlie Kirk, a father, husband, public figure, and voice in the political arena, was assassinated at Utah Valley University while speaking to students at an event.
This tragedy rips open another wound in a society already frayed by violence and division. Like 9/11, and many other moments of public violence, it confronts us with our vulnerability, our sin, and how quickly human life can be ended. It forces us to reckon with the sharp edges of hate, fear, pride, and ideologies turned weapon. We mourn for Charlie Kirk’s wife, children, family, and all who admired him and were drawn by his words. We also lament what this says about our culture, where speech and gathering, even in the name of debate and public life, are not always safe.
Scripture doesn’t leave us without resources in the face of such evil. We are called again to “weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15), even when we do not share all views or beliefs with those we mourn. And we are reminded in Ephesians 6:12 that our struggle is not only with flesh and blood, but with spiritual forces of darkness.
This moment calls us not only to grief and outrage but to concrete faithfulness. If sacrifice means laying down life for others, then how much more does it mean laying down our pride, bitterness, anger, and the temptation to demonize others for the sake of safety, influence, or ideology. The cross shows us that the greatest act is love: love that is not passive, love that does cost, love rooted in truth and compassion.
So we remember and we mourn with solemn hearts, grieving the lives lost, honoring the courage shown, and recognizing the fragility of life. But we also look forward as people of hope. Because our Savior Himself entered into death and rose again, we can face tragedy without despair. Because Christ laid down His life for us, we are called to live as sacrifices for Him.
So let our remembrance today not only look backward but also move us forward. Let us be a people who, shaped by the cross and resurrection, live lives of daily surrender. Not because the world demands it, but because Christ is worthy of it.
“For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.” (Romans 14:8)
Good, positive post.
My viewpoint tends to be a bit more negative. I see 9/11 as a judgment of God against America’s ungodliness (similar to how God used pagan nations to punish Israel for their idolatry), and, not as simply a past event, but as a beginning point for Islamic takeover, initially marked by Islamic apologists claiming that Islam is really a religion of peace, the creation of the idea of Islamophobia, etc.
As far as Charlie Kirk, I see his murder as not so much a political assassination, but more as a Christian martyr who took a public stand for godliness and the gospel, and whose assassination was largely because he publicly condemned sin.
Jeff, thanks for sharing your thoughts. I appreciate your willingness to speak honestly about how you see these events. Scripture certainly does show us that God sometimes used tragedy and even foreign nations as instruments of judgment against His people when they turned away from Him. At the same time, I think we need to be careful not to assume we can always know or name God’s specific purposes in present-day events.
When Jesus was told about a tower that fell in Siloam and killed eighteen people, His response was not to assign blame or draw a straight line to judgment, but to say, “Do you think they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:4–5). In other words, tragedies like these should drive us to humility, self-examination, and repentance before God. They are reminders of how fragile life is and how much we need His mercy every day.
I do believe that Charlie Kirk sought to stand boldly for what he believed was right, and I grieve his death along with you, I believe that we should let his loss remind us to remain faithful in our own daily walk with the Lord and to live with eternity in view. We can be confident that whatever God’s purpose in these events, He calls us to respond with faith, with repentance, and with steadfast hope in Christ, who alone is our refuge and salvation.