Remembering 911.
I remember 20 years ago today being at work and hearing from one of my colleagues about what was happening at the time, and then turning on the TV to watch, with utter astonishment, the rest of the unfathomable and inexcusable events of that day unfold. As I watched the planes flying into the towers, and their subsequent collapsing, I can remember the feelings of intense anger and hatred that welled up in my gut toward the people responsible for such an atrocity.
From what I understand, each of the individuals in these suicide squads were expecting to be rewarded with a very warm welcome into Heaven, with 76 beautiful virgin women awaiting them and at their disposal. I remember joking somewhat coarsely and saying something to the effect of “well, these guys are getting a much warmer [hotter] welcome than they were expecting and they are indeed getting screwed, but not by 76 virgins.” Pardon my coarseness, however the metaphor is a pretty good representation of what awaited these men. I took pleasure in the assurance of this, and that is where I was terribly wrong. There is no pleasure that should be taken in the damnation of a human being.
The Taliban is indeed a terrible organization, to say the very least; it is run straight from the pit of Hell, so to speak; a brainchild of Satan himself, who hates and wants to destroy people, all people. The thing is, that those serving [enslaved to] the interest of this wretched organization are ultimately as much the victims, perhaps even more so, of who and what is behind this organization, as are those who were and who are currently suffering as a result of the despicable actions of this wicked organization.
We must realize that the real enemy here is not the human membership of the Taliban, but the diabolical entity who is behind the Taliban who has deceived these people and is leading them straight into their eternal damnation. Jesus tells us to love our enemies; a tall order indeed that can only truly happen by the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells within the believer of the Gospel. The Bible tell us that God so loved the WORLD; this includes members of the Taliban, that He sent His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him; including members of the Taliban, should not perish, but have everlasting life. It is possible for God to save people involved in such organizations; all sin is forgivable by God. We need to remember that Satan is not defeated by the harming or killing of his human servants; that is one of his goals (remember, he hates people and desires their destruction). He is utterly defeated when one of them (anyone) repents and believes the Gospel and receives the gift of eternal life.
I am by no means saying that people guilty of such atrocities should not be brought to justice, nor am I saying that the USA and her allies should not take appropriate actions, military and otherwise, against wicked organizations such as the Taliban; I believe that these are both more than appropriate, to say the least. I am saying that we need to be angry without sinning; hating sin and not sinners; seeking justice not revenge; doing ourselves the favor of forgiving others, as opposed to holding on to enraging and enslaving grudges. Let us never forget either that God is in control; He is infinitely more powerful than Satan, and that nothing is going to happen that is not going to work for the good of those of us who trust in, and therefore love Him, and are called according to His purpose.
Please be sure to check out the other posts and pages on this site and share them with others whom they may bless. May God bless you, and may God bless America.
JJR