There was a
trend a few years back, where everyone seemed to be putting “God is my
co-pilot” stickers on their cars (I always felt that if God actually got into
my car, I’d have Him drive, but…). You
don’t see those much anymore, maybe God’s been relegated to the back seat? :)
My family
thinks I’m a bit weird in that I like to watch TV programs about airplane
crashes. Not from a morbid point of
view, it’s just interesting to learn what went wrong along the way, whether it
was a mechanical issue or human error, which person did what that started a
chain reaction that ended with a plane on the ground in a million pieces.
You learn a
lot about aviation watching those programs.
One aspect I’m fascinated by is the interaction between the pilot and
co-pilot, especially on takeoff and landing.
It’s not always the captain that’s in control on takeoff or landing,
they take it in turns. One flies the plane and the other is responsible for communications
and making sure things happen when they should.
As a plane is
going down the runway, the communications officer will call out (at some point)
“V1”. V1 is a warning that means you
have reached a velocity that requires the plane to take off, that you’re going
too fast at that point to stop safely on the runway. Shortly after that, they will call out
“Rotate”. Rotate is a call to action,
the pilot flying the plane needs to lift the nose of the plane and get off the
ground.
I’ve started
to see a parallel with this and my walk with God. At birth, (if you are lucky) you are given
the faith of your parents. To varying
degrees, you learn the faith from them, from your church, maybe your school,
and from friends like you in your community.
This is like leaving the gate and taxiing down toward the runway.
Most forms of
Christianity have signposts along your journey (like the markers on the side of
taxiways and runways): Baptism,
Sacraments, etc. But, you control your
journey: how fast you go, or even if you
leave the gate at all. If you do choose
to progress, at some point, you find yourself approaching the runway.
And, this is
something deeper than just a commitment to your faith, to your brand of
Christianity and its rules. This is you,
deciding for yourself, that all that you’ve learned and experienced is
real. That gets you on the runway.
Runways are
not parking lots, they are used to get going on a journey. You’re not meant to stay there, you need to
start moving toward that real God.
Jesus is in
that cockpit with you. You have the
controls. At some point, He’ll call out
“V1”. This is your flight, but there are
no worries, you have the most experienced pilot ever next to you and He won’t
let you fail.
“Rotate”.
Isn’t the
view from up here incredible? :)