It’s a day that we will never forget.

A day where hundreds died and millions mourned. A day when we cried out for justice, and vowed to “always remember.”

September 11, 2001 is a day that we, as Americans, can’t forget. Looking at the New York skyline, we remember. Thinking about the unrest in the Middle East even today, we remember. Going to get on a plane, we remember. Anytime that amount of blood is senselessly shed, we remember.

And rightly so. It was an awful, terrible, tragic day. Images were burned into our minds that day of loved ones collapsing in grief and panicked ones leaping from flaming buildings in fear. We can’t forget. We don’t want to. We want to memorialize those people who died for simply being Americans. We want to remember how we felt that day, and so we remember. Every year, on this date, we remember.

So what do you do on Sundays? Do you remember an even more tragic day? Do you think back to a day when only one died, and only few mourned? Do you think back to the darkness that swept over the earth? Do you hear the whips? Do you see the nails? Can you hear the cries of agonizing pain?

There’s a difference in these days, obviously. One the one hand, people died at the hands of terrorists. They died while doing regular things. They died on a day when they really didn’t expect to. They died while the nation watched in horror. And so, we remember.

On the other hand, you have Jesus. A sinless Man who died at the hand of the supposed righteous. A Man who died because we did sinful things. A Man who died after many days and years of knowing exactly what was going to happen. He died while the world went dark and the people cheered. It wasn’t glorious. It was a criminal’s death. Still, we remember.

We remember because He didn’t die in an accident; He died for ME. He died for YOU. He died for the very ones who murdered Him. He died so that we could escape this life of pain and live eternally with the God of the universe. He suffered and bled and died, so we remember. Every Lord’s day until He comes, we remember.

But today, ask yourself this question: are you more touched by the terrible events of 9/11 or by the thought of a perfect Savior hanging on a rugged cross? Because as terrible as 9/11 was, it pales in comparison to the day Christ died for you.

Today, vow to never forget. Never forget that you live because Christ died. Because He was brutally murdered just for you.