by Randal Matheny

For weeks after the September 11 attack, I wrote nothing. Absolutely nothing. When I finally did, it was a short verse later published in Möbius.

New York, September 2001

Two towers pierced by hatred, hearts, by pain; The twisted steel and rubble, thousands slain But serve to harden will to build anew, Repress the havoc heinous men would do, And hallow noble dreams by rage assailed, For freedom's haven hope has never failed.

A Babylonian Talmud saying, found in a Portuguese book this morning, expressed it well. I translated it into English.

"The deeper the sadness, less [speaks] the tongue."

The secular media must not be feeling sad about it. Not only are the channels alive with talk of the anniversary, but there is news and commentary about what everyone else is reporting and commenting. The whirwind to suck up and stir up every sad thought and every expression of grief, anger, and latent emotion.

We have learned, as has Mr. bin Laden and company, that Lamartine was right when he said that "The same sufferings unite a thousand times more than the same joys." Though it has not taken long for the unity to unravel. Private interests and selfish ambitions crumble national resolve in a hurry.

The Bible says to give thanks in suffering. Africans dying by the millions in inter-tribal wars, HIV plagues, and desert-forming droughts touch us only a little. Chinese oppression and persecution cause us little pause before the shelf full of imported goods. We have felt now the full impact of hatred, greed, and religion gone crazy. We now experience a sample of the staggering suffering much of the world lives with daily.

I do not say we should wallow in grief. There comes a moment to stand up, look reality in the eye, and glorify the Maker for his goodness. Something not unlike Baruch's advice,

"Jerusalem, strip off the garment of your sorrow and affliction, and put on for ever the glorious majesty that is the gift of God" (5.1).

I do not know if America was destined for greatness. I rather doubt "manifest destiny." No political nation has God's special favor. That spiritual grace is reserved for his chosen people, the church, scattered in every nation, placed among every people on earth. But I do know the United States is my home, and I am grateful for its principles, culled from the Bible, for its freedoms, recognized as divinely given, and for its faith that there exists a God in heaven who cares for his creatures.

In man he has placed eternity and invites us to discover in time the Everlasting, in suffering, the maximum pleasure, in sorrow, the incomprehensible joy, in death, the unextinguishable life.

So, against the ruins of the World Trade Center and the repairs of the Pentagon stands the Cross. Hatred killed the Son of Man. Love and Justice raised him up. And however right a military response may be on the government's part to secure the safety of its citizens, I know my part, as servant and disciple, is to raise the voice in praise of redemption and lift up every eye to the empty tomb.

One year later, there is much to say.

by Barry Newton

Adversity is a fact of life. There is no mystery here. What is interesting though is the question, “How are our trials shaping us?”

When various types of troubles insist on crowding into our lives it can be easy to succumb by becoming embittered, grumbling and complaining, hanging onto disappointments or nursing grudges against others. If people allow their trials to shape them in this manner, evil wins. But their individual stories do not need to end this way.

The wide variety of trials which bombard us present us with great opportunities. James 1:2-3 reminds us that because the testing of our faith creates heroic endurance resulting in a maturity where no aspect of character will be lacking, we actually ought to be joyful when encountering difficulties! Trials are opportunities to develop into the people God wants us to be. Maintaining faithfulness even through adversity makes us stronger.

A teenager is taunted for her faith in Christ, she acknowledges that Jesus is her Lord. Perseverance grows.

Economic difficulties or health issues arise tempting a person to lash out at God and become embittered. Instead of becoming a seething pot of acidic attitudes, a prayer is offered up seeking strength to overcome. A prayer life takes deeper root.

A young person walks away from an immoral opportunity. Moral development is fortified.

The clock does not stop ticking as personal goals and desires clamor for immediate attention. The small voice of a child rises asking for help. Instead of an outpouring of abrupt anger at being interrupted, kindness and attention are given. Patience, love and a commitment to true priorities become more firmly established.

“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial; because when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love him.” James 1:12

by Michael E. Brooks

[Editor's note: This article was written exclusively for Forthright. Mike is teaching at the Khulna Bible College in Bangladesh. He'll be there until December 17. He also makes trips into Nepal. His good wife Brenda will join him in a few weeks and remain for a month. Please pray for these two wonderful people.]

"Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. In response Jesus said to it, 'Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.' And His disciples heard it. . . . When evening had come, He went out of the city. Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter, remembering, said to Him, 'Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.' So Jesus answered and said to them, 'Have faith in God'" (Mark 11:12-14; 19-22).

Our discussion of Jesus' cursing of the fig tree usually focuses on one or both of two areas of emphasis. We ask, "Why did He curse a tree that was doing nothing wrong"? Or we focus on the statement following these verses concerning the power of faith and His promise of such power to the Apostles.

Both are legitimate and important concerns. But by limiting our reading to the verses above, we notice another possible emphasis of Mark’s. That is the suddenness of the miracle. Was Peter amazed at the fact that the tree died, or by the quickness of its demise?

We have all seen trees and other plants wither and die. Even when cut down or uprooted it usually takes days, or even weeks for the leaves to completely wither and turn brown. This tree showed total withering overnight. Amazing!

It is no coincidence that this miracle occurred less than one week before Jesus would be taken by an angry mob, tried, condemned, and executed. This in spite of the "triumphal entry" of just days before, and the great success of his public teaching in Jerusalem all during the week. With great abruptness the apostles' world will be torn apart.

So it often happens to us. Life is good. We live normally, keeping our schedules. Suddenly, with no warning, tragedy occurs. A regular doctor’s visit reveals life-threatening illness. An accident takes a loved one. We are "down-sized" and lose our jobs. Suddenly! No warning! Life is like that.

Now Jesus’ answer becomes relevant. "Have faith in God." This is not about trying to acquire power to match that of Christ. It is about responding to the unexpected. Dealing with the tragic. Understanding the bizarre. How could "it" happen? We don’t have to know. Because God is in charge, we can just accept whatever circumstance brings us, knowing that "all things work together for good to them that love God" (Rom. 8:28).

Peter, get ready. More stunning things than a dead tree are about to happen. You are going to need help to deal with them. But that help is there, abundantly. Have faith in God!

by Randal Matheny

[Note: The following article was written for The Voice of Truth International, with those in mind who speak English as a second language.]

Not the size of the struggle, but the strength of the mind determines whether we will be faithful to God. When trials and difficulties arise, the mind often grows weak.

As one proverb says, "If you give up when trouble comes, it shows that you have very little strength" (Prov. 24:10, NCV).

So the question is this: How can the Christian remain strong when troubles come?

The apostle John wrote the book of Revelation to the seven churches in the region of Asia (Rev. 1:4). Christians in that area were suffering persecution because of their faith. By means of a vision given to him by God, John showed these disciples that a greater battle was going on in the invisible, spiritual world.

They were few in number, with limited resources. The Roman government appeared to have the upper hand. But this battle was weighted greatly in their favor. Their spiritual advantage was far greater than what their physical disadvantage appeared to be.

In the beginning of his letter, John reminded these Christians of three important spiritual facts that would help them to remain faithful to Jesus. They will also keep our minds firm when we face trials.

1. "He is the One who loves us" (Rev. 1:5). We should never doubt God's love for us because we are suffering for the gospel. God's Son suffered the horrible death of crucifixion in order to save many people. We may be sure, therefore, that God is allowing us to suffer as Jesus did in order that many may be saved.

2. "And he is the One who has made us free from our sins with the blood of his death" (Rev. 1:5). God has also forgiven our sins. Our sufferings should never cause us to doubt that we have been pardoned and welcomed back into God's fellowship. At times, you might think that something you have done in the past still causes God to let you suffer. John wants all Christians to know that forgiveness is real, even when we undergo great trials.

3. "He made us to be a kingdom of priests who serve God his Father" (Rev. 1:6). When Jesus saved us at our baptism and added us to his church, we became a part of his kingdom. This means we obey him in everything. He is king, and we are his faithful subjects. It also means that we work to build up his kingdom. John says that we serve God. His work is to save more and more people from sin. When we suffer persecution, we must remember that our work still must be done. We cannot let our difficulties keep us from teaching others that only Jesus saves. In fact, we should expect to be persecuted. Showing the power of God when we are under trials is a part of our work.

From the very beginning of his letter of Revelation, John shows us how to remain faithful when we are persecuted. He moves our attention away from ourselves. He directs our thoughts to the person of Christ. This apostle reminds us of Jesus' love, of his forgiveness of our sins, and of his call for us to serve God in his kingdom.

If we remember these things, we will be firm and strong to the very end. No problem, no matter how large, will be able to move us away from Christ.

by Emmett Smith

If today was an average day, more that 3,000 unborn children were aborted in the United States. Such entities as Planned Parenthood and their powerful lobby insist that this so-called constitutional right of infanticide must continue. There is much consternation as we approach a new congressional cycle that the 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe vs. Wade could be overturned. In California, a legislator has introduced a bill (SB 1301) whose intent is to protect Californians from these anticipated "anti-choice" victories. Have you ever wondered why these folks are so insistent about what they call "choice"?

Of course it's not possible to fully develop such a complex issue in a brief article, but certainly one major component is population control. Thomas Malthus is generally regarded as the originator of the idea that population growth (exponential) would outstrip food production (linear). He predicted (in 1798) that the result of unchecked population growth would be catastrophic. Of course he was wrong. Food production more than kept up with population growth, and still does. Famine and starvation have lessened in magnitude even as population has skyrocketed. But these facts didn't deter Paul Erlich, who published his scholarly work titled "The Population Bomb" in 1968.

He predicted mass famine unprecedented in human history by the latter part of the last millennium. He insisted that at least 10 million people would starve to death during each year of the 1970s. When these predictions proved wrong, he simply extended the timetable into the future. Unfortunately, many accept these dire predictions, and consequently embrace the "necessary" solutions of population control. But what (or who) is missing from these calculations? God is.

I'm reminded of Paul's statement in Romans 1:22, "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools". Paul contended that these people were "without excuse" because the evidence of God's existence was all around them. And Peter warned of the scoffers who would be willfully ignorant of God's existence and thus deny the Second Coming of Christ. Ironically, Malthus was supposedly a man of God. And unfortunately, many today who profess Christianity still accept the so-called "wisdom of the world".

Forth from his dark and lonely hiding-place (Portentous sight!) the owlet Atheism, Sailing on obscene wings athwart the noon, Drops his blue-fring’d lids, and holds them close, And hooting at the glorious sun in heaven Cries out, “Where is it?”

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

1 Corinthians 3:19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. Jeremiah 10:23 O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.