Prepared to Live, Unafraid to Die

"Are you ready, guys? Let's roll!" With those words, Todd Beamer put down his phone; then he and some other brave passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 took action. Somehow they thwarted the efforts of the terrorists who were trying to steer the plane toward Washington, D.C. Many times since that tragic morning on September 11, the world has heard the story of Todd's heroic deeds. President Bush even introduced Todd's widow, Lisa, during a nationally-televised speech before a joint session of Congress. But the story most people haven't heard is the way Beamer's previous 32 years prepared him for that moment of high drama and self-sacrifice.

"He was a good student, an athlete, a handsome fellow—but he was just a regular guy," his father, David, told me in a recent interview. "At the end of his life Todd did something special, but he was the product of what ought to be normal—a Christian value system. He had two sets of Christian grandparents, a believing mom and dad, an older sister who set a good example for him, and a younger sister who looked up to him. We're proud when people call Todd a hero, but all Christian families have the responsibility to raise up their children in the way that they should go."

When Todd was a boy, his family worshiped with Calvary Christian Church in Swartz Creek, Michigan. Later he attended a Christian elementary school and high school in Wheaton, Illinois. Today his parents are members of the Church of Christ at Manor Woods in Rockville, Maryland, near Washington, D.C. His younger sister was working just a couple of blocks from the White House on September 11. No one knows exactly where Flight 93 was headed before it crashed in a Pennsylvania pasture field and killed all 44 people on board, but the White House or the Capitol were likely targets.

"We miss him beyond measure," says his dad, "but we've been given a great blessing. We have a documented record of what happened." Todd was on the phone for 15 minutes before the plane went down. He expressed his love for his wife and children (three-year-old David, one-year-old Andrew, and another baby to be born this month). Before he took action against the hijackers, he and a GTE airphone operator said the Lord's Prayer together. Ironically, during the weeks prior to September 11, Todd and Lisa's small group had been studying the Lord's Prayer in their Bible study—so when he quoted it during those tense final moments on the plane, his father notes, "it wasn't just a recitation, it was a prayer."

Todd's family is sad, but not bitter that the Lord allowed this tragedy to happen. "God created us all," David says, "and he gives us free will. We're no puppets on a string. He's made it possible for us to go to Heaven with him, but he's given us a choice. In this world there are times when the forces of good and evil intersect."

There's a long pause before he continues. "Todd's OK. He was ready to meet his Maker. We miss him, but our time on this earth is short, and it won't be long till we see him again."

Since September 11, David Beamer has had many opportunities to offer what he calls his five-minute sermon. "Todd's last words made him famous," he says. "In recent weeks, they've even appeared on billboards. But Todd's last words actually serve as a challenge to people who don't know the Lord: “Are you ready, guys? Are you ready to meet your Maker? If not, why wait? Let's roll!"