February 2, 2025
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Well, we have had quite a week in the world of aviation. On Wednesday night, January 29, an army helicopter collided with an American Airlines regional jet that was on final approach to Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. The midair explosion caused the death of the 64 passengers and crew members aboard the jet, plus the three soldiers in the helicopter.
On Friday night, January 31, all six people aboard a small jet serving as an air ambulance died when the jet went down in Philadelphia shortly after takeoff. One additional death occurred on the ground in the Philadelphia accident. A child in the air ambulance had just spent months in life-saving treatment in a Philadelphia hospital and was finally enroute to her home in Mexico.
All told, 74 souls (and still counting) met their earthly demise within nearly 48 hours.
The point is probably none of the 74 souls expected to die this week. Experts speculate that the 64 jet passengers in D.C. were dead before they knew they were in an accident. Normally, the final approach is the safest part of a flight. The young girl had a new lease on life with the medical treatment she had received.
The question is: “Were they born-again before they died?” Did they see Jesus this week? Are they at peace with our Lord and Savior today? Their lives were cut short, so anyone who had put off the decision for Christ may not have had the opportunity before they died. And that is tragic.
All Plans Are Tentative
The scriptures warn us not to assume anything when it comes to our life or longevity on this earth.
James 4:
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow, we shall go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.”
14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are [just] a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.
15 Instead, [you ought] to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that.”
Luke 12:
16 And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a certain rich man was very productive.
17 “And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’
18 “And he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
19 ‘And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years [to come;] take your ease, eat, drink [and] be merry.”‘
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This [very] night your soul is required of you; and [now] who will own what you have prepared?’
21 “So is the man who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
The Gospel message is an urgent one that needs to be on our minds and in our hearts. Because our life is a vapor that may vanish in an instant, we ought to be about the Lord’s business. We should be laying up treasures toward God by working to share His word with others around us.
Who Are You Hanging With?
When word first broke that there were no survivors in the D.C. crash, I was moved to tearful compassion. I was just filled with incredible sadness for all the victims and their families.
It is easy today to have a hardness of heart toward those who are different than we are, toward those who believe differently and especially those who perpetrate evil. But the Lord is calling us to have compassion for non-believers of all types. Some who died this week may not have known Jesus, may never have been invited to ask Him into their hearts. Their deaths are even more tragic.
While we await the Rapture, we are called by Jesus to spread the Gospel to all the nations. Some are missionaries to the nations, but many of us can answer the call right where our feet are. I always admired my wife Nancy in this regard. Nancy has always been eager to engage strangers in a discussion about Jesus.
While many of us can be missionaries to unbelievers who are around us every day, some of us may have to start searching out and hanging out with non-believers. That’s what Jesus did during His ministry. How can you share the Gospel with the non-believer if you never encounter them? Look at what Jesus said to the Pharisees who criticized Him for hanging with the less than pious.
Matthew 9:
11 And when the Pharisees saw [this,] they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax-gatherers and sinners?”
12 But when He heard this, He said, “[It is] not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.
13 “But go and learn what [this] means, ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Jesus calls us to be compassionate to those who are not yet called by His name. In fact, He desires compassion more than sacrifice. 1st Peter 3 also encourages us to be sympathetic and kind toward others who may have worked evil against us.
1st Peter 3:
8 ¶ To sum up, let all be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit;
9 not returning evil for evil, or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.
Invite Jesus In
If you haven’t yet received Christ into your heart, pray this prayer with me. Or if you encounter anyone who hasn’t received Jesus into their heart, I encourage you to lead them in this prayer.
Father God, I confess and repent of my sin, and I ask Your Son Jesus to come into my heart to change me. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord, and I believe in my heart what Your word says, that You raised Him from the dead for the forgiveness of my sins. I praise You for the truth of Your word, and I ask the Holy Spirit to walk with me, that I might walk in wisdom and overcome the temptation of the devil. In Jesus’ name I ask. Amen.
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