Tuesday, June 8, 2004
Tuesday, June 8, 2004
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
(Romans 15.13
NRSV)
Luis Palau tells about an Air Canada flight that ran into trouble one fateful Monday. Passengers were enjoying a movie on a Boeing 767 when the jumbo jet's massive engines abruptly stopped. Only those without earphones noticed at first. Then came a break in the movie. The pilot announced that Flight 143 would be making an emergency landing. Sixty-nine people were trapped in an agonizingly slow but inescapable descent to earth.
For several minutes, a desperate silence hung over the cabin. Then fear gave way to screams as the landing neared. All the latest technology couldn't keep the jumbo jet in the air another second.
What had happened was this. The electronic digital fuel gauge was out of order. The flight crew depended on figures given by the refueling crew before takeoff. But someone on the refueling crew confused pounds for kilograms. Thus, eight hundred miles short of its destination, the jet had run out of fuel. Fortunately, the captain and the co-captain were able to glide Flight 143 some one hundred miles to a former military air field. A dramatic crash landing heavily damaged the jumbo jet's landing gear, but, by the grace of God, no one on board was hurt.
An impressive craft--headed in the right direction--but running out of fuel. That's happening to a lot of people today. They have a high sense of self-esteem. They are motivated by a sense of purpose. But one day they wake up disillusioned and disheartened. The fuel has all been spent.
Where does the fuel we need for life come from? It comes from God's in-dwelling Spirit. This was the most important gift that the Father bestowed upon those first disciples of Jesus. And this is the most important gift He can bestow upon us. And He will give it to all who ask.
God of love, keep fueling me up through the power of your spirit. Amen.
