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February 13,2002
Dear Readers,
I wrote my last newsletter on September 10, 2001. Who could possibly have known
how momentous that last evening of national peace would become? While we in Seattle worried
about the Mariners Win Streak, our lives took a dramatic turn. It’s hard to believe that five
months have passed since the now famous events of September 11, 2001.
For some of us, life will never be the same.
For the families and friends of those killed or
injured in the terrorist attacks, I offer my most sincere sorrow. I grieve with you. An intentional and hate-filled
act of violence has taken someone you love. Even those who survived are
forever changed. Having never experienced that, I can’t imagine how
you must feel. How lonely! How violated!
But, there is One who knows exactly how you feel. Your heavenly father lost his
only son to the hate-filled actions of a few jealous and evil men. The father felt your anguish as
they spit on Jesus and mocked him.
God watched while Evil drove nails through Jesus’ wrists and
ankles, skewering him onto a wooden cross. After hours of agony, the father
watched his only son die.
His grief clothed the world in darkness.
Mary felt what you feel as she watched them kill
her firstborn. Terrified
and alone, Jesus’ death left his friends overwhelmed and vulnerable.
But something supernatural happened that day.
His death opened the way for all of us to
experience life-after-death. His
resurrection proved that eternal life is not only possible, it belongs to us who believe. And it taught us more – that
hate can’t win, that physical death will never be end.
We get the last laugh.
For those of us who trust in His gift of eternal
life, there can be no real terror.
No evil minded, hate-filled person can ever take His gift from
us. Unlike those who trust
in security checks, scanners, and the National Guard, we place our
complete confidence in someone we cannot see. We have peace and security that
can never – under any conditions – be taken from us. We put our trust in the God of
Peace.
We know that until we finish our task here on
earth, we are invincible – to terrorists, to disease, to accident. And conversely, when our work is
finished, no doctor, no security system, no safety net can save us. For we will be headed home.
In him we have our Peace.
“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the
world gives. Do not let
your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27
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