Flying High with Jesus
Dear Friends,
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A lot of us imagine what flying first class is like. As we walk through the cabin, we see the lucky souls sitting there, in larger, more comfortable seats with increased leg room. Some of them are sipping tea in real China cups. Once the flight takes off, a curtain is pulled separating them from the rest of us. We can only imagine the pampered life they are enjoying while we sit jammed into our seats like sardines in a can.
Let me tell you, flying first class is truly special. I know because I've had the pleasure of doing so. It happened only once, but I will never forget it. My daughter and I were flying back from Louisville, Kentucky. When we got to the J. F. K. International Airport, we got bumped for the last leg of the journey. That short ride in first class from New York to Hartford, CT was amazing. We were treated like royalty.
Who wouldn’t want to take advantage of the opportunity to fly in luxury if the occasion arose? I’ll tell you who: My associate, Pastor Enrique Newman. On our recent short term mission trip to Honduras, he was bumped and given the opportunity to travel first class from Miami to Comayagua International Airport. He declined the offer and chose to remain in the main cabin with the rest of the group.
Pastor Newman was leading the team. Why didn’t he move up and enjoy the comforts of first-class luxury travel? Maybe it was because he felt it was more important to take the journey with the rest of us. To be separated out and treated special would have given him a very different experience. No one would have question him moving up. Yet, he understood that his responsibility as a team leader called for him to be with us in the shared travel experience.
So, it was with Jesus. We hear from the apostle John in chapter one of his gospel account, that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The apostle goes on to say, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” This is the origin story of Jesus. On that star lit night in the town of Bethlehem, he left his heavenly throne and took on human flesh. He became one of us and our journey became his journey.
As the writer of the book of Hebrews says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize and understand our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet he did not sin.” God wasn’t content to sit back and watch us face our trials alone. He entered into the struggle and experienced life with all of its demands. To continue the airplane illustration, you could say that he chose to fly coach like all of us.
This act of becoming fully human prepared him to be the perfect person to take on the sins of the world. By living life as one of us, it allowed him to become the peace offering that satisfied the demands of the law. As we read in Isaiah 53, “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”
The good news is that because of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, we have all been bumped to first class status in God ‘s book. Our tickets have been upgraded and we can enjoy the benefits of a relationship with the true pilot of all that is and ever will be, God himself. So, sit back and enjoy your flight.
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See You In Church.
Pastor Cal