Has a Bird Hit Your Plane?

Lately in reading the news I have noticed that quite a few planes are running into birds or birds are running into planes. I guess when your flying there is no such thing as right of way or maybe, just maybe, these birds are like those we all know and love that try to put on make up, talk on their cell phones or text while driving. Man, I really love those people. We have seen some pretty heroic landings, like the one a couple of months ago where the pilot landed in the Hudson river and like the one yesterday where the pilot landed at an airport in Atlanta.

So why does this strike me as interesting, why did I feel the necessity to blog about this instead of Calvinism being named the No. 3 in Times list of Ten Ideas that are Changing the World Right Now? It is because I believe that many Christians in their walks today have been derailed, to use a train term (not a plane term), or to carry on with the bird analogy, they have been forced to land due to a bird hitting their spiritual windshield.There are times in our spiritual walks where we feel like God is not with us or that if God were truly looking out for my best interests I would not be going through this trial. Whenever a bird hits our spiritual windshield we immediately doubt the pilot, God, has left the plane, why is that? Do you think when the plane was going down into the Hudson back in January the passengers were thinking the pilot had left the plane? Sometimes under the same circumstances though we think like unbelievers going down in a plane crash, "Man I hope my pilot isn't on crack" or "Man I hope my pilot really knows how to fly this plane". We as believers hope that God isn't on crack or has gone to a good "god" school so that He can help us in our time of need. Why is that? 

Think about these verses:

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." James 1:2-4

"In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 1:6-7

"then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment," 2 Peter 2:9

Notice that when a bird hits our windshield we are to rejoice in the trial that it has brought us. We are to rest in God and His plan for us. When our plane, spiritual walk, is headed for the Hudson River we should be looking for how God is using this situation to strengthen our walk with Him. Is he drawing us to Him? Is he showing us that we have more faith in Sully the pilot that landed the plane in the Hudson River than in Him? Also take a look at the 2 Peter 2:9 verse, the Lord knows how to rescue us. We can rejoice in the fact that our pilot knows how to land the plane. Our pilot knows exactly how to and when to rescue us from the onslaught of birds coming towards our windshield. 

So, as we think about our decreased hours at work, our possible unemployment, our relatives who have grave illnesses or just how things aren't going our way, understand that our pilot, God, knows your situation and completely understands when and how to rescue you.

Relational

Lately I have been really thinking about our relationships as Christians. I mean we as human beings are naturally a relational creature. In today's society our relationships have taken on a different feel too. Look at how we communicate these days, Facebook, Twitter, Blogs and if your old school MySpace. All of this just got me thinking about Christians and these forms of media and how it affects their relationships.

The passage  that I have been studying is Matthew 22:34-40 and it's relationship back to the Decalogue. In this passage in Matthew Jesus tells the Pharisees that the two greatest Commandments are that "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind"  and that "You shall love your neighbor as yourself". The first refers back to the Jewish Shema and the Jews relationship to their God. The second refers to the Jews relationship with each other and the Gentiles. The second is the one that has really brought me to a deep searching of my soul.


The first thing I have been asking myself is do I really know my neighbors and with that do I even have a desire to know my neighbor. I started thinking, I live on a fairly safe street in a safe city and I have made no effort to know any of the people who live around me. I mean I feel a sense of camaraderie with the guy down the street that has a Christian sticker on his car, but that's about it. Is that right? Here I am in seminary, working my way towards a pastoral position and I do not know my neighbor. So often I am happy talking to my Christian buddies about theological controversies or about the interpretation of a certain text, but I do not take the time to know my neighbor. So if I don't know my neighbor, how can I love him? If I do not share the Gospel with them, can I even say that I love them? When I don't show care for their soul, do I love my neighbor?


My heart has been heavy lately because I believe that I am not the only one who is this way. I think if we were to go through our churches we would find that we are very good at maintaining our Christianity in the four walls of our church. This is not to say that we don't evangelize every now and then or that we don't go on a missions trip once a year. I just think that we do all this and we do not know the people who live around us. I believe taht we are somewhat afraid to share the Gospel with the people that live around us, because they are going to see us everyday as long as we live near them. When we go to the mall or another country we can evangelize them and not realy fear rejection because we will not have to see them everyday, but our neighbors.....we will see everyday.


So ask yourself the question I am asking myself, "If I call myself a Christian and I believe that Christ called me to share the Gospel message with all people, then why do I not know my neighbor?" and "why do I not love my neighbor so much that the fear of rejection is no big deal?" I pray that my heart will change and I pray that the hearts of our churches will change also.