September 11, 2023 - Good Morning! It's Monday, September 11.
There are moments that happen in every generation that are so earth shattering, that everyone remembers where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news. For my parent's generation it was December 7, 1941, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. For my generation it was November 22, 1963, the assassination of President Kennedy. And for all of us, it was September 11, 2001.
Events like these change us, change our culture, change our world. Remember what going to the airport used to be like - greeting loved ones as they got off the plane, standing at the window - without a ticket - watching the landings and take-offs. My daughters know nothing of those memories. And my parents experienced things that I never knew.
Change. It comes. Ready or not. I look at the preschoolers in our church and wonder what kind of world they will grow up in. That's a question that's been asked by every parent in history, I guess.
On July 19, 1971, the second Twin Tower in New York City was completed - topped off, as they say. One week earlier, on July 11, a baby boy was born to Bill and Gloria Gaither. They named him Benjy. The gospel songwriting couple worried about bringing a child into a world where the Vietnam War was raging, where protests were happening in every major US city, where Watergate was on the horizon, where the Cold War with Russia was a constant threat to the safety of America.
The Gaither's, like all artists, used their art to deal with what they were going through. As they awaited the birth of their new child, they wrote these words -
How sweet to hold a new born baby and feel the pride and joy he gives.
But greater still, the calm assurance, this child can face uncertain days because He lives.
Today, Benjy is a film producer, actor, songwriter, and father. Things turned out ok, life goes on, change happens, God has a plan.
And life is worth the living just because He lives!
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
