Love Won

I want to remember September 11, not because I nurture bitterness for those who perpetrated so despicable an act upon innocent Americans, or because of the horror and destruction that was wrought that day, but because in the end, love won.

I began my morning watching the memorial taking place in New York City. I heard former-Mayor Rudy Giuliani recite from Ecclesiastes chapter 3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WB6jhbtDUZE&NR=1  "For everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under the heavens." I listened to the names being read by family members of those who died. And I wept.

Hatred inaugurated the events of that day, events set in motion ten years before by the misbegotten idea that anyone could crush the American spirit of freedom, faith, and resilience. Our nation was forged by men who willingly gave of their lives, their honor, and their fortunes to establish more than a country, but an idea, a concept whereby a free people could achieve beyond anyone’s expectations.

The term "hero" has been tossed around like confetti over the years, applied to persons who maybe stood up for something they believed in and were criticized or ostracized. Politicians have been called heroes for proposing unpopular legislation–an inaccurate and self-serving use of the word. To my mind, that’s not what makes a hero. Merriam-Webster uses the term "warrior" to describe a hero. Yes, warrior. Because this is a war we are in now to defend our way of life from those who fear it, distrust it, and don’t understand it.

Amid the death and destruction, hundreds of firefighters, policemen, and ordinary citizens gave their lives to save others. They are heroes.

No greater love has any man than to lay down his life for his friends. And while a man might die for a friend, on September 11, 2001, those men and women died for people they didn’t know. In New York and Washington, heroes kept going back to save others. Some made it out; most didn’t. On a plane over Pennsylvania, a handful of passengers decided they couldn’t let the terrorists in the cockpit complete their mission. Heroes, true heroes, sacrificed their lives for their fellow Americans. Because of love.

It was fitting for construction workers to discover the cross on September 13, the cross that stands today at Ground Zero, because it is the symbol of ultimate sacrifice. Two thousand years ago, another Man laid down His life for His friends, and for those who were not. Love won that day over hate.

On September 11, love won. Again.