Next Thursday marks the 24th anniversary of the terrorist attack of 9/11. Every American knows exactly where he or she was when they first heard of this evil murder of nearly 3,000 of our countrymen. We watched in horror as the Pentagon burned and as the Twin Towers collapsed while firefighters bravely struggled to rescue those trapped inside.
The Muslim terrorists who perpetrated these sinister actions did so by hijacking airplanes. Using inexpensive boxcutters and intimidation, they commandeered the cockpits of the aircrafts and used them as enormous weapons of mass destruction. Their plan was carefully designed and involved coordinated effort among several conspirators. Thankfully, one of those planes never found its intended target and praise God for the brave individuals who prevented it from doing so.
Airplane hijacking is nothing new, however. Less than 30 years after the Wright Brothers took their first flight at Kitty Hawk, revolutionary soldiers commandeered a plane in Peru to advance their cause in 1931. Since then, it has happened over 1,000 times around the world as individuals with warped minds and unscrupulous consciences have preyed upon innocent travelers and trusting pilots. Thankfully, the changes implemented after 9/11 have greatly reduced the frequency of these events in spite of them complicating air travel. These changes have resulted in lost freedoms as we can no longer assume people will do the right thing and respect life. Good, bad, or indifferent, we cannot turn back the clock and pretend nothing like it will ever happen again.
The characteristics of a hijacking are very similar to what the devil has done with the good world God created. Through Adam’s sin, Satan gained control of humanity’s cockpit and has been flying our plane ever since. Because he is the same one who was ultimately behind the 9/11 attacks, we can clearly discern his intentions which are to steal, kill, and destroy by whatever means possible.
Much of what God created for good has been commandeered by Satan to cause pain and suffering. Instead of being used in moderation, Jesus’ adversary has successfully tempted millions to abuse alcohol and hurt both themselves and others. He has twisted God’s good gift of sexuality into fornication, adultery, and other perversions that cause more pain than can be measured.
The Devil also hijacks good plans of Christians. Believers founded American schools to teach children to read God’s Word. Sadly, the enemy has so usurped control that the Bible can no longer be freely taught in public education and has been relegated to released time, private schools, and homeschools. The first hospitals were started by Christians to relieve suffering but many have been used since to kill unborn children and mutilate bodies with sex-change operations. Other beneficial inventions such as the internet, social media, dynamite, photography, and many more have been seized by the foe and used for much evil.
Sadly, even the church is susceptible to such hostile take-overs. When God’s Word is no longer revered, taught, preached, and obeyed, it’s apparent that Jesus is no longer in the cockpit, for He is God’s Living Word. As those brave individuals stood against the hijackers on Flight 93 in Pennsylvania, believers must courageously stand for the timeless truth of all that the Bible teaches. We must resist efforts to revise God’s standards and redefine His Word to align with our own preferences.
It has been wisely observed that, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” If we stand idly by while the enemy, and those he has deceived, wrest control of our culture, nation, and even Christ’s church away from godly pilots, we become complicit in his hijackings. Let’s pray that nothing like 9/11 ever happens again. And until Jesus returns to reclaim His rightful seat in this world’s cockpit, let us, with His power, stand against those seeking to commandeer God’s Word, God’s world, and God’s ways. Blessings, George