I can’t believe it’s been 23 years since 9/11. It blows my mind that people in college weren’t alive on that day in 2001. In a lot of ways, that day feels like yesterday with how vivid my memories are.

I still remember my boss calling me into his office on that day. I had no idea why and thought for a minute I’d done something wrong or forgotten something. But when I walked into his office and saw the TV, I knew something was up.

No one knew what was going on when that first plane hit the Twin Towers. I think everyone was in shock from seeing images of a plane crashing into a skyscraper. But when the second plane hit, suddenly I got a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. So did everyone else.

In the words of the Alan Jackson song, that’s the day the world stopped turning. Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives and if not for the brave efforts of so many of our firefighters and police, many more people could have died.

It was the day when everything changed. Airports and flying were never the same after that day. One beautiful part was seeing unity and cooperation on 9/12 that we’ve rarely seen before or since. And I distinctly recall a lot of churches were full that next Sunday.

It’s one of those moments like when JFK was assassinated. Everyone who was alive and old enough to remember can tell you where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news. It’s a flashbulb memory that’s indelibly marked in a lot of brains.

The best way to honor those who died that day is to not forget what happened. We need to pray nothing like that ever happens again. We who call upon the name of the Lord need to repent and return to seeking God’s kingdom instead of trying to build our own political kingdom. We need to get back to the Great Commission and being the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We remember still.