Hatred Came with a Vengeance (09/11/2025)

Today, September 11, 2025, we mark the 24^th anniversary of that horrific day when the US was attacked at multiple sites by al-Qaeda. Hatred came upon this nation with a vengeance that day. We all remember where we were and what we were doing when we first saw the images from New York and Washington D.C. of planes being flown into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. We can remember our incredulous reaction when the two World Trade Center buildings collapsed. And “Why?” was on our minds as we lifted our voices and hearts in prayer to our LORD.

Today, as we remember those individuals lost that fateful day to hatred inflicted with such great force and intensity, we will pray for these individuals, for their families that continue to mourn, and for meaningful ways to combat hatred. We know that nothing good comes from hatred of another. We promised ourselves in the days following 9/11 that we would remember and not let this hatred win.

Yesterday, in the early afternoon in Orem, Utah a 31-year-old Charlie Kirk was starting a rally on the campus of Utah University for his Turning Point USA, taking questions from the crowd of young people who had gathered in the thousands. He was sitting on a stool when a shot rang out that ended his life. Hatred isn’t gone. Hatred came with a vengeance for Charlie yesterday. And a young man with a wife and two daughters is gone because someone in our world hated Charlie’s insistence on the goodness of open and charitable debate.

As a world, we are struggling. In the Middle East, the nation of Israel who swore “Never again” faced a holocaust on October 7, 2023 where over 1200 innocents were slaughtered and over 250 were taken hostage. That day infamous day launched the Gaza War we are still seeing play out as Israel fights to free the hostages and to defeat the force of hatred that launched that hate-filled day. And the innocents continue to suffer in both Israel and Gaza as Hamas’ hatred inflicts pain unnecessarily all around it.

If there is one thing my journey has taught me, it is that hatred of another has no place in the world the LORD created for us. Our LORD created with love and out of love and wove within each of us that need for love. And when the Son of God, our Savior Jesus Christ taught, He reminded us that we are to be like our Heavenly Father, loving and merciful, not hating and vengeful. Even as he hung upon the cross for our sins even though He himself was sinless, He begged, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

We who call ourselves His, Christians, must find a way to stand up against and route out this hatred that has too firm a grip on our world. We must find a way to disagree, even vehemently, with respect and love. We must learn to separate the doer from the deed. We may not like or even hate what another does, but we must never allow that hate to become personal, we must never allow ourselves to hate another.

Today, as followers of Christ, let us commit to taking some time to searching our own lives and rooting out any semblance of hate for another. Let us commit to seeking loving and peaceful solutions in our homes, our communities, our nation, and our world. Let us pray for those we lost on 9/11 and for their families who still mourn. And let us pray for Charlie Kirk and the repose of his soul. Let us pray for Charlie’s wife and two young daughters. Let us pray for those traumatized by yesterday’s experience in Orem. And let us pray to the LORD for a tenderization of our hearts making them more receptive to the transformative love of our LORD through the Spirit.  For if we don’t, we can’t be surprised when hatred comes with a vengeance the next time.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.