10 Years On from 9/11 I have been reflected in recent days on the events of September 11th 2001, 10 years ago

today. In that past 10 years the world has accelerated away from that date in many ways and in many ways because of what happened on that date. For me September 11 was a defining event. I sat transfixed to my small 48cm CRT television and watched the seemingly unreal footage roll in and unfold before my eyes. The next day I stayed home from work sick and watched more and more of this horrible, unimaginable drama unfold. The truth is, the enormity of the event didnt hit until later. Even today I get a knot in my stomach when I see footage or hear audio of those attacks. The emotion is palpable. The transportation back to that place vivid. The question I have been pondering is why? Why has this attack, unlike any other act of terrorism, so lodged itself in my psyche? Why am I so moved by its scenes, its sounds and its stories? The cynic will say it is because of the media. No doubt the media brought our two extreme sides of the world together, but I dont believe that is the reason. Plenty of other events, conflicts, disasters have been televised both before and after without such an impact. I believe the reason 9/11 holds such a deep-seated place in my life is spiritual. I believe everything is spiritual, but the 9/11 has special spiritual significance because it to me is such a powerful, real life symbol of the war we are confronted with in this life. Some have attempted to re-write 9/11 in recent years as simply a Clash of Cultures, that the USA got what they have been giving out for years. It is not Islam at fault but the flaws and corruption of the West that brought this to bear. Aside from historical inaccuracies in that position, I think it is also nave and an insult to what we all observed happen 10 years ago. By that I mean, the events of 9/11 were perpetrated by unmistakable and undeniable forces of evil against an unsuspecting, unprepared, unengaged opponent. On any level or by any measure of ethics or morality, it was a repugnant and despicable act not just on the individuals who were killed and who suffered but on a larger scale, those who stand for freedom. Like it or not New York City has for generations stood as a symbol of liberty and freedom. From the immigrant arrival halls, to the bustling commerce of Wall st, to the Statue of Liberty herself. NYC has come to embody what the new world of America came to stand for. The United States for all its flaws is a great nation, established on a sound foundation. The 9/11 attacks were an attacks of these same ideals, both in the natural economically, politically, culturally and in the Spirit. When I saw those attacks, I saw evil at work. And it lodged something in my Spirit. This is wrong and it can not be allow to prosper. Justice must be bought, and swiftly.

Many had this thought and attention turned to operations in Afghanistan and the like. But for me the justice and fight against evil was only ever going to be waged and won in the Spirit. It is now where I live in a battle, in a war. Not against flesh and blood. But against principalities and powers. I have given my life to God, the creator of all life and sovereign authority over all that is good. The same power at work, bringing havoc, suffering, chaos on 9/11 I now know as the face of my enemy. I belong to the Lord and I am available to do His bidding in pushing it back, and cutting off its pwer that no other 9/11, natural or Spiritual, take place in my lifetime. There is never a guarantee of that. In fact, evil continues to prosper. But the memories of 9/11 simply serve to provide me with a real, a vivid, almost tangible reminder of the enemy I face and the war I wage. For Good against evil. In this way 9/11 is a metaphor for my calling and my life. Lest we forget.