Never Forget (Friday Devotional)

I will call to mind the deeds of the Lord; I will remember your wonders of old. I will meditate on all your work and muse on your mighty deeds.

- Psalm 77:11-12

Never forget.

That phrase, almost immediately after the devastating terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, became the watchword of its remembrances. Where other national news stories, even tragedies, tend to fade in our collective memories, we were all sternly warned that such a thing ought never to happen with 9/11.

What there seems to be little agreement on, however, is what exactly “never forget” means.

For the grieving, especially the families of those who died in New York, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, it is a call to remember the men and women who lost their lives on that day, to see them not as statistics but as individual people, each with a story worth sharing. For this reason, the names of those who died are often read one by one at memorial services every September 11.

For the angry and the combative and, in some cases, the prejudiced, “never forget” is a call to arms, a demand that our enemies pay the price for the evil they perpetrated. While the identity of those enemies has tended to shift with the political winds—from Al Qaeda to the Taliban to ISIS and beyond—there have always been some who, as they beat the drums of war, did so with the clarion call, “never forget.”

For those disturbed by today’s political polarization, “never forget” is about the national unity we experienced that September, a time when being a Republican or Democrat mattered less than being an American. Though that solidarity was brought about by tragedy, “never forget” is said with the hope that we might recapture it somehow.

On this 25th anniversary of 9/11, I’ll add one more thing worth remembering. The days following the attacks were filled with fear and anger, there’s no doubt. But from neighbor to neighbor, they were also days marked by compassion and grace. Conflicts that once felt important now seemed insignificant. People looked for ways to be generous, whether by mowing their neighbor’s lawn or by sending money across the country. Prayers came quickly and naturally to people.

That’s because in the wake of a horrific tragedy, God did what he does best: slowly and beautifully, he turned death into new life. Through countless acts of courage and compassion, light began to shine through the darkness and the Lord did redemptive work. Sermons and speeches proclaimed the gospel, but it was the witness of the Christlike who truly brought good news to the brokenhearted.

In the face of unimaginable loss, there were some who dared to love like Jesus. May we never forget what that was like 25 years ago—and may we always remember to do it again today.