Conference Postponed until 2021
Dates to be announced
Greatness Does It's Duty, In Love
I sit here and write this brief note… and I reflect on a national day of remembrance. Now usually, one reflects on an anniversary date because one wants to do such. Not so today.
I remember because I can’t help but remember. The calendar forces me to remember the horrific events that took place 19 years ago on September 11, 2001. This nation was rocked with surprise, disbelief and painful reality. Nearly 3000 American citizens woke up, went to work or about their daily lives only to have them ended early that morning. A radical fundamentalist group used their hateful ideology to kill those who did not believe as they believed. Sad? Terribly so. What the evil of men’s hearts is able to conceive and perpetrate upon other humans… never ceases to dumbfound us.
I also remember how 19 years ago this unforgettable event woke this nation up and united us around a “oneness” that was almost universal across these United States. Our first responders (police, fire fighters, paramedics and the like) were all rightfully honored and praised around the country for their quiet resolve… to do their duty – to rush into danger – rather than run from it. Nine-Eleven, truly a day that will always be remembered where greatness does its duty for the sake of others. I pray that this nation never forgets this event that transpired 19 years ago and how we pulled together as a result.
As a parish pastor, I also sit in remembrance of how houses of worship across this land saw an influx of hurting souls flocking back to the familiar... the comforting Word of God that changes not, even in the face of the most horrific evil. People were searching for answers to their questions of why? How can such a tragedy befall this nation? What does this mean for the present? For our future?
I also sit here and ponder the truth of how time changes people. Yes, we do forget. Too many today vilify our men and women in blue and even speak of their desire to take away their funding and/or resources rather than support them for the “self-less duty” they place themselves in every time they leave home and begin their shift. These officers have a duty to perform their jobs to the best of their abilities. Perfect? No. Human? Yes. I always pray for their safety and their families who await the sound of their loved one returning home after their challenging shift.
Souls are still hurting, still searching, still questioning. I suspect that you know as I do, that people everywhere are still in need of the certain, familiar, sound Word of God. Today more than ever. We need the whole truth of solid doctrine built upon the sure foundation of Holy Scripture. We also need the correct practice of living out the faith that we are so blessed to have received. The events that take place around us do not “just happen.” God remains the same. He is in control. I believe He has placed us here… in this place right now… for this very time in our history. It falls upon us… the Confessing Christian church, as to how we handle the duty that has been entrusted to us. Will the church continue to examine her doctrine and how she puts that doctrine into practice? Or will she shy away, keep her mouth shut, and turn from the duty that we’ve been charged with by Jesus Christ? Greatness does its duty in love, for the sake of others.
Join with the ACELC in this battle for the truth and faithful practice of what Scripture has called us to confess. Visit www.acelc.net for resources, teaching materials and podcasts on this ongoing battle to keep the church proclaiming the Gospel in love. If not now, When? Titus 1:9
Rev. Lon E. Landsmann
Speaker’s Bureau Chairman
www.ACELC.net
