Living to Serve
Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2:4 (ESV)
Twenty-five years later, September 11, 2001, is a day we can’t forget.
We remember nearly 3,000 people whose lives were taken. We remember husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, friends, co-workers, and strangers whose lives were forever changed. We remember the loss and devastation.
But today, we also remember something else: the extraordinary courage and compassion that rose in the midst of that darkness.
Firefighters ran into the burning buildings while others were running out. Police officers and emergency workers stayed at their posts, helping people escape. Ordinary citizens stopped to carry the injured, guide strangers to safety, comfort the frightened, and do whatever they could to help. Many gave their lives that day so that others might live.
One of the most moving stories is that of Welles Crowther, a 24-year-old equities trader who worked on the 104th floor of the South Tower. Welles was also a volunteer firefighter, having begun serving his hometown as a teenager.
When Flight 175 struck the South Tower, people trapped on the 78th-floor sky lobby were surrounded by smoke, confusion, and devastation. Then a young man appeared through the smoke. He was wearing a red bandana over his nose and mouth. Welles calmly helped people find the one usable stairway and led them toward safety. According to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, he made three trips back to the sky lobby, repeatedly returning into the danger to help others. He even carried an injured woman on his back as he helped survivors descend.
Eventually, Welles did not make it out. It was only afterward, when survivors began telling stories about a mysterious young man in a red bandana who had rescued them, that his family realized the hero they were describing was their son. Welles had carried a red bandana since he was a boy. What had been an ordinary piece of cloth became a lasting symbol of courage, compassion, and service.
There is something especially powerful about that story. Welles could have thought only of himself. He could have escaped and never looked back. Instead, he went back into the tower again and again. He was fully committed to helping save others. He went, as one person said, “All in.”
As Christians, we are not called simply to believe in Jesus; we are called to follow Jesus. Jesus did not live for Himself. He came to serve. He touched the hurting. He welcomed the forgotten. He fed the hungry. He comforted the grieving. He stopped for people others passed by. And ultimately, He gave His own life so that others might live.
That means asking ourselves: Who needs my help today? Who needs encouragement? Who is lonely? Who is hurting? Whom can I serve without expecting anything in return?
We may never face the kind of life-and-death circumstances faced by the firefighters, police officers, and courageous citizens of September 11. But every day gives us opportunities to lay aside our own convenience and bless someone else. We can choose to be “all in” in serving Jesus through, loving and serving others.
Sometimes serving looks heroic. More often, it looks like small acts done with great love.
Lord God, our Father, today we remember those who lost their lives on September 11, and we remember with gratitude the firefighters, police officers, emergency workers, and ordinary citizens who showed extraordinary courage and compassion.Comfort those who still carry the wounds of that day. Bless the families who continue to miss loved ones. May our remembrance become service, our sorrow become compassion, and our gratitude become generosity. May our lives point people toward Christ, who gave everything for us. In the name of Jesus, Amen.