The proof was in the DNA of the two large bones found in October 2008 at the crash site in California. They belonged to the unfortunate Mr. Fossett. In September 2007 he took off in a single-engine plane and just disappeared until a plane-crash site was found. Parts of a plane were found, but that was not conclusive. Not even finding his shoes and driver’s license were absolute proof that Fossett was the man who had died in that shattered plane until the bones were found and tested for DNA. That ended all doubt.
He was a 63-year-old millionaire, an adventurer who notched up 116 records in balloons, airplanes, sailboats, gliders and airships. He climbed more than 400 mountains and swam the English Channel. But one flight was his last, and he never returned. The largest air and ground search in U.S. history, involving dozens of planes and hundreds of people over an area of 17,000 square miles, failed to find him.
His flight into eternity is considered an accident. He couldn’t fly over this mountain peak, and he didn’t plan on the sight of the mountainside rushing into his windshield. He was planning his next world speed record, but his record making is finished.
You and I will never match or exceed his records. For example, in 2005 he was the first person to fly a plane around the world without refueling. But we will compare in one way. You and I will also have a last flight. He suddenly went into eternity-an unplanned flight. So will we.
Jesus Christ spoke of a man who had great plans for his future. In Luke 12 he said he would pull down his barns and build bigger ones to store the plentiful harvest he had just reaped. He would take it easy and retire on Easy Street.
He said, I have “enough...for many years; take [it easy], eat, drink, and be merry” (verse 19).
God said, “Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then who will get it all?”
He was so busy that he forgot about God, about his soul, and about the end of this life. Jesus said the poor rich man was not rich toward God. He abruptly left everything behind and stepped into eternity. No replay possible.
How much wiser it would have been to have followed the advice in the Bible: “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found”! That applies to all ages and conditions, but-the day will come when He can no longer “be found.” We are no more sure of tomorrow than the rich man nor the flier.