When I was a young boy I lived in the Bahama Islands, and I became fascinated with anything that flew, especially small airplanes. One sunny day my father, knowing of my newly developed interest, arranged for me to fly along with a missionary pilot in his small, four-seater, single-engine airplane. He was going to take a native to one of the many small islands in that area. Excited with my first ride I climbed aboard. But as I looked over the plane I noticed not only that it was rather old, but that it was covered in a canvas fabric which was patched in many places. I buckled the frayed seat belt. My heart beat with excitement and fear as the roaring engine pulled the rickety, old, vibrating airplane into the sky.
The flight was uneventful, and I enjoyed the wonderful view of the beautiful turquoise water and the white sandy beaches down below. After taking the native to his island, we returned home, and I remember thinking as I opened the door how glad I was to be back safely. Even though I was young and had never flown in an airplane before, I knew that the plane was not safe.
Only two weeks later the same missionary pilot was flying this same old plane, carrying a family of four, when he crashed into the ocean. A piece of canvas from the wing had come loose. It became tangled in the tail, forcing the plane to come spiraling down, and smashing into the sea just minutes later. The pilot had just enough time before the crash to get a life jacket on each of his passengers and instruct them how to get out of the plane. None of them knew how to swim.
As the plane hit the water the pilot’s head was forced against the instrument panel, and he blacked out for several minutes. When he regained his senses he was still in the plane, but underwater — along with the terrified passengers. Quickly he opened the door and pushed them out. A few seconds later they all were floating on the surface, with the tail of the plane still visible above the water. What a relief to know that they were all alive.
Then a strange thing happened. The father, in his panic-stricken state, pulled off his life jacket — the only thing that could save him and shouted, “Save my wife and children!” His head disappeared beneath the waves, and he was never seen again.
You may very well ask, “Why did he do such a foolish thing?” But you know if you turn away from the message of the gospel and the Person that it is about, the Lord Jesus Christ, you are doing exactly the same thing as the poor father in our story. By rejecting the Lord Jesus as your Saviour, you are throwing away the only thing that can save you from a lost eternity in the lake of fire! The Bible says in Acts 4:1212Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. (Acts 4:12), “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Another verse of warning, Hebrews 2:33How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; (Hebrews 2:3), says, “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation.”
Don’t throw away your “life jacket.” Trust in the Lord Jesus today.
ML-12/30/1984