Another tragedy. A chartered plane crashes in the Andes. Aboard were 77 people, including a whole soccer team from Brazil. The crash killed all but six of everyone on board. What makes it even more tragic is that the crash could easily have been avoided. Apparently, the pilot somehow made the decision to bypass a scheduled fuel stop. The plane’s fuel capacity was not sufficient to make a nonstop flight from Bolivia to Colombia. Yet the pilot thought he could make the trip without refueling, ignoring the original flight plan. And his decision did not end well for everyone. The plane ran out of fuel and crashed.
Machines and equipment such as a plane are designed with specifications. Those who make the equipment usually produce an instruction manual. And those who use such equipment would do well to become sufficiently familiar with their design, and periodically to consult the instruction manual for their proper use.
When God created humankind, he designed us for a specific purpose. But humankind disregarded God’s design and the result was a disaster. Yet in his great wisdom he had already worked a plan to restore all things to his original intent. And God’s plan is that in his Son a new creation would come into existence (2 Corinthians 5.17). “God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him” (Romans 8.29 The Message).
The apostle Paul speaks of a pattern for life that every believer is urged to adopt. One may say that adopting this pattern is the means by which a follower of Christ is able to live according to the design for which one is created. “Hold on to the pattern of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 1.13 HCSB; Romans 6.17; 12.2). For us today, we access this pattern of teaching through the gift of scripture and the guiding presence of the Holy Spirit. We would do well to hold on to the teaching of scripture as we journey through life. Perhaps one may say scripture is the instruction manual for Christian living. We need always to make time to stop and refuel our spirits with God’s Word, and to seek the Spirit’s guidance through prayer. It would be wise to avoid going through life depending on one’s own strength and wisdom. We need to take constant and consistent “fuel stops” in the Word. Then we also would avoid the danger of unnecessary spiritual crashes, and instead press on toward the “upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3.14 NET).
—Keith Y. Jainga