Reflections on a visit to 9/11 museum

On our recent trip Sue and I had the opportunity to be at “Ground Zero.”   Our visit to the 9/11 Museum, built on the site of the former World Trade Centre, was both overwhelming and haunting.

Two magnificent towers standing proudly over the skyline in the commercial heart of New York, in a matter of hours became a mass of rubble and twisted metal. What was supposed to be a testament to the achievements of mankind, and a centre for communication and understanding became the site of death and heartbreak.

It was haunting to walk along wall after wall of pictures, of the people who had died that day.  Each picture had that person’s story.  There were a wide variety of folks, from all walks of life.  Different faiths, different ethnicity, different people, much the same as you would find in any community.  Places like Marton.

There were people who like BBQs, sports, hiking and running marathons.  There were accountants, firefighters, lawyers and police.

We all remember where we were when we heard the news on September 11^th2001. We all agreed that the world would never be the same again.  Anyone who can compare going through airport security before and after those events will testify to that!

Like Christchurch and other terrorist events, it was senseless and brutal, carried out by people who thought they could change the world for the better, but of course it had the opposite effect.

We live in a world that proclaims it wants peace but seems totally unable to achieve that goal. And so we rightly ask “can there ever be peace?”

Jesus talked about a very different kind of peace in John 14: 27 Jesus said :  

 “²⁷Peace 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.”   What peace was Jesus talking about?  He was talking about peace with God.  How do we find Peace with God? Only through Jesus.  Earlier in the same chapter Jesus said, “I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father (that is God)except through me”

When we have that Peace, Paul says in Philippians 4: 7 that it will “guard our hearts and minds in Jesus Christ.”  In other words, it is peace that is available no matter what circumstances we find ourselves, even in the darkest days.

Are you looking for peace, peace with God that is?  Then Jesus is standing, arms wide open waiting for you to come.