Jesus was on My Airplane!
Having my children living in several different states has made me a frequent flyer. Afterall, I can only go so long without snuggles from those precious grandbabies! I usually make my travel time productive by listening to my seminary class lectures or writing Bible Study lessons. But on one recent flight, Jesus showed up on my plane to pull me from my “high-brow theological activities” and give me a refresher course in the essential basics. And it wasn’t a pastor or theologian sitting next to me that He used, but the flight attendant! Now, I try to always be respectful and make eye contact with the flight attendants as they give their “what to do in an emergency” spiel; but I admit, I have heard it so often, I usually find myself mentally checking out and thinking about something else. This particular time though, the attendant had a theology lesson to teach me.
Okay, maybe I took a little artistic license with the title of this post to get your attention since the truth is that Jesus, being Omni-present, is on everybody’s airplane every time! But sometimes, He decides to make His presence known! God used the flight attendant to show me that the “emergency talk” you hear on airplanes is not just about how you should respond to an air crisis.
The first thing that is always pointed out on the airplane are the emergency exits. One should always note, though, that the best exit may not be the one in front of you. God, too, has given us an emergency exit – it’s called prayer! Philippians 4:6 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” No matter what situation we find ourselves in, our first response should be to find the emergency exit and go to God in prayer. Once we have handed it over to Him, we can feel safe knowing that He will handle the situation by always doing what it is for our spiritual good and for His glory. We need to remember though, that the best exit from our situation may not be the one that is in front of us; it may be one behind us that we can’t see with our forward-facing tunnel vision.
Step two of an air crisis is that oxygen masks will drop from the ceiling. We are always cautioned to put our own mask on before assisting someone else with theirs. Friends, this is the Word of God! Only God’s Word has the life-giving, life-transforming, life-saving message we need for our very existence! And as 2Timothy 2:15 warns us, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” We need to have our own mask firmly in place (knowing God’s Word) before helping others with theirs!
Step three, your seat cushion is also a life preserver. Pick it up and hold on tightly to it. Is there any clearer picture of Jesus?! Romans 10:9 tells us, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” It is not enough pick up the seat cushion (confess that Jesus is Lord), you need to hang onto it tightly! (believe in your heart). Only then will you be saved!
And the last step, should the lights go out in the plane, there are lights along the aisle that will illuminate allowing you to see where you are going. This is the Holy Spirit! Ezekiel 36: 26 – 27 says, “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.” We are all born dead in our sins and in the darkness of that sin state. It is only by the illuminating work of regeneration by the Holy Spirit that we are able to see what Jesus has done for us and our way is made clear. And after He regenerates our heart, He indwells in us sanctifying us, guiding us so that we are able to find our way.
God doesn’t just send us up in the air on our own. He has graciously and mercifully put a complete rescue plan in place for His people so that whatever may occur while we are flying through life, in Him, we are equipped to handle it!
