UPFRONT September 11, 2006 Issue

Five years, and praying

STEVE GRAHAM, MANAGING EDITOR

On the wall beside my desk at home hangs a small black-and-white framed photograph. I bought it for $20 in New York in October 2001. It shows the twin towers of the World Trade Center rising out of the lower Manhattan skyline, their sleek lines etched gracefully against the horizon — a symbol of a watershed event in my life and the lives of so many other people around the world: the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks. This modest photo reminds me almost daily that human life and security are never to be taken for granted. That for people in many nations, terrorism has corrupted normalcy and stolen peace. And that we must seek true life and security in that higher of places Jesus spoke about, "where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal" (Matt. 6:20).

This week's Sentinel is dated Monday, September 11, 2006. And in remembrance of that day exactly five years ago, which dawned so clear and bright but quickly became a day of shock, and grief, and sober resolve to forge a more peaceful planet, we have returned to a topic that's very familiar and more vital than ever: spiritual approaches and solutions to terrorism.

The past 60 months have not seen an end to terror. But neither has progress eluded them. Think of the millions of prayers that have gone out in the interim. They can't help but bring individuals and nations to a less fearful, more peaceful, place. As just one example, last month a major terrorist plot was thwarted — one that intended to blow up as many as ten passenger aircraft bound for the United States from Britain. That threat may yet seem unnerving, but the bottom line is that the plot was exposed in time. The planned attacks never happened.

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