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On Sunday, September 8, 2002 John Piper preached from Romans 8:35-36 with a
focus on the
commemoration of the calamity of 9/11.
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or
distress, or persecution, or famine,
or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we are
being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’"
He argued that Jesus Christ is mightily loving his people with omnipotent,
moment-by-moment love that
does not always rescue us from calamity but preserves for everlasting joy in
his presence even through
suffering and death.
After the exposition, he said, "Let’s let Lisa Beamer bear witness to this
sovereign love. Her husband
Todd was on flight 93 that went down in Pennsylvania. He was the one who
said, ‘Let’s Roll.’ He left
behind Lisa and three small children (one born last January). I have found
at least ten lessons from Lisa
mostly in here own words."
What follows are the ten "Lessons from Lisa" that he gave his people as an
extended application and
embodiment of Romans 8:35.
1. Embracing the sovereignty of God brings strength and hope.
Lisa: "God knew the terrible choices the terrorists would make and that Todd
Beamer would die as a
result. He knew my children would be left without a father and me without a
husband . . . Yet in his
sovereignty and in his perspective on the big picture, he knew it was better
to allow the events to unfold
as they did rather than redirect Todd’s plans to avoid death. . . . I can’t
see all the reasons he might
have allowed this when I know he could have stopped it . . . I don’t like
how his plan looks from my
perspective right now., but knowing that he loves me and can see the world
from start to finish helps
me say, ‘It’s OK.’" (Modern Reformation, 24-25)
"If we believe wholeheartedly, each moment, that our destiny rests in the
hands of Jesus Christ – the
one with ultimate love and ultimate power – what do we have to be concerned
about? Of course, our
humanity clouds this truth many times but hanging on to glimpses of it keeps
everything in
perspective." (Modern Reformation, 31)
2. Don’t presume to know better than God how to run the world. It is pride.
Lisa: "My faith wasn’t rooted in governments, religion, tall buildings, or
frail people. Instead, my faith
and my security were in God. A thought struck me. Who are you to question
God and say that you
have a better plan than He does? You don’t have the same wisdom and
knowledge that He has, or the
understanding of the big picture." (World, 25)
"We also aren’t privy to the perspective he has and shouldn’t claim to know
better than he does what
should happen and what shouldn’t. . . . Faith means that, regardless of
circumstances, we take him at
his word that he loves us and will bring us to a good result if we just
trust and obey him. Obviously, the
ramifications of this understanding have been tremendous for me since 9/11."
(Modern Reformation, 25)
3. God has a good purpose in all the hard things that happen to his people.
"God’s sovereignty has been made clear to me. When I am tempted to become
angry and ask ‘What
if?’ and , ‘Why us?’ God says, ‘I knew on September 10, and I could have
stopped it, but I have a plan
for greater good than you can ever imagine.’ I don’t know God’s plan, and
honestly, right now I don’t like
it very much. But I trust that He is true to His promise in Romans 8:28: ‘We
know that in all things God
works for the good of those who love him.’ My only responsibility is to love
God. He’ll work out the
rest." (Decision, 8). Beneath her signature Lisa writes Genesis 50:20, "As
for you, you meant evil
against me, but God meant it for good." (Modern Reformation, 30)
4. Death and suffering press in on us the perspective of eternity.
Lisa: "September 11 has shown me the reality of eternity in a dynamic way
these past few months.
When I’m overwhelmed with sadness at what I’ve lost in this life, He is
quick to give me His eternal
perspective. ‘Lisa, this life is just a blip on the radar screen compared to
your future with Me in heaven,’
He says. ‘The best thing that you can imagine on earth is garbage compared
to what awaits you.’"
(Decision, 8)
5. God’s distribution of suffering is not equal, and one hard thing may
prepare for another.
When Lisa was 15 her father suffered an aneurysm at work and died the next
morning in the hospital.
Lisa: "When my father died, faith wasn’t so easy anymore. . . . I spent five
years asking why,
expressing my anger saying it’s not fair, before God helped me realize that
he is who he is all the time
– in good circumstances and bad. He is all-powerful and all-loving, but that
doesn’t mean that as a
citizen of this fallen world he protects us from every ‘bad’ event." (Modern
Reformation, 25)
What a witness to God’s goodness and sovereignty the world would be missing
today if God had not
prepared Lisa Beamer for this loss by the death of her dad!
6. God’s love takes care of us right now in our suffering, not just later.
Lisa: "He knows that I am a hurting and in need right now. Every day He
provides encouragement and
resources just for me. Little things show me that He is with me: a Scripture
with just the words I need
to hear, a call from a friend when I feel lonely, help with a task that I
can’t do alone, or a hug and ‘I love
you’ from one of my children. God’s love is truly sufficient to meet any
need that I have." (Decision, 8-9)
7. Calamity calls for quick practical love like meals and baby sitting.
Lisa: "The picture of the church as the hands and feet of Christ, with each
person having a special gift,
has been well portrayed to me these last months. In the beginning, it was
immediate and practical help
I needed – meals, child care, managing phone calls, and mail. Now that we’re
out of the crisis mode it
is rebuilding help I need – counseling , encouragement, prayer." (Modern
Reformation, 28)
8. Quiet, confidence in God’s power and goodness through suffering create
occasions for
witness.
Merilee Melvin said of Lisa, "Her disarming quiet confidence in God’s
purposes must be the reason
Larry King has had her on this show eleven times." (Modern Reformation, 30)
9. Trusting in God’s sovereign care in all circumstances frees you from
greed and releases
love for others.
Money started to flow in to Lisa Beamer. Some letters were simply addressed,
Lisa Beamer, New
Jersey, and got to her. Lisa: "I didn’t feel comfortable keeping this for
ourselves when there were many
unknown families who should share." So she started the Todd M. Beamer
Foundation to assist children
who lost a parent in the 9/11 calamity. (Modern Reformation, 30)
Her freedom for others comes out in another way: "My family and I mourned
the loss of Todd deeply
that day . . . and we still do. But because we have a hope in the Lord, we
know beyond a doubt that
one day we will see Todd again. I hurt for the people who don’t have that
same hope, and I pray that
they will see something in our family that will encourage them to trust in
the Lord." (World, 26)
Lisa’s way of encouraging people to trust in the Lord is sometimes so
straightforward that Newsweek
magazine called it "stern and even a little grim." She wrote in her memoir,
"You think you deserve a
happy life and get angry when it doesn’t always happen like that. In fact
you are a sinner and deserve
only death. The fact that God has offered you hope of eternal life is
amazing! You should be
overwhelmed with joy and gratitude." (Newsweek, 42)
10. Without God the world is hopeless.
With hundreds of others she attended the memorial service in Shanksville, PA
at the crash site where
her husband died. The Christ-exalting memorial service for Todd had been on
Sunday, the day before,
and had strengthened her. "On Monday," she said, "as I listened to the
well-intentioned speakers, who
were doing their best to comfort but with little if any direct reference to
the power of God to sustain us. I
felt I was sliding helplessly down a high mountain into a deep crevasse. As
much as I appreciated the
kindness of the wonderful people who tried to encourage us, that afternoon
was actually one of the
lowest points in my grieving. It wasn’t the people, or event, or the place.
Instead, it struck me how
hopeless the world is when God is factored out of the equation." (World, 26)
So, together with Lisa Beamer and the apostle Paul and Jesus Christ himself,
I plead with you, Don’t
factor God out of your life, or Jesus Christ who died and rose and reigns
and intercedes for all who trust
him, that we might have eternal joy with him in the presence of God.
The quotes are from:
"Let’s Roll [excerpts from her book]," World, Vol. 17, No. 31, August 17,
2002, pp. 20-28.
Lisa Beamer, "The Hope I Know," Decision, Vol. 43, No. 9, September, 2002,
pp. 6-9.
Ann Henderson Hart, "Finding Hope Beyond the Ruins: An Interview with Lisa
Beamer," Modern
Reformation, Vol. 11, No. 5, September/October, 2002, pp. 24-31.
Evan Thomas, "Their Faith and Their Fears," Newsweek, September 11, 2002,
pp. 36-48.
Pastor John Piper
Bethlehem Baptist Church
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