Is it safe to fly?
Mon August 22nd, 2005
Apparently in the last twenty five years the safety of flying has improved from three fatal accidents per million flights to one fatal accident per two million flights in 2004. We are told it is the safest form of transport.
Yet in the last week there have been three major air crashes with at least 294 people killed. Each of these people has left behind someone to mourn. Parents, children, siblings, friends and lovers all over the world have lost someone close in August due to an air crash.
Memorable Dates
We can all remember images of the four hijacked planes lost on 11th September 2001, the Concorde tragedy in July 2000 and the Lockerbie disaster of December 1988. We have seen the evidence of the aeroplane used as a soft target, a deadly weapon or just badly maintained.
Everyone remembers where they were on 22nd November 1963 when Kennedy was shot and 31st August 1997 when Dianna, Princess of Wales, died. 9/11 is another one of those days – we can all remember when we first heard about the New York attacks and when we saw the images of what a powerful weapon a passenger aircraft could be.
Now we see the annual Bognor Birdman contest taking place, the winner flying 80m in an entirely 'man-powered' flight. Besides raising thousands for charity, the event still aims to produce a 100 metre man-powered flight, the prize of £25000 for which has never been claimed. Over the years there have been a few non-serious accidents there too!
The Luddites say no!
A hundred years ago, flying was a dream – now it is a routine form of transport - that is until you are involved in an accident.
Some 'Luddites' would say that "if God had have intended us to fly He would have given us wings". The Luddites have a bit of a history in York too, as 15 of them were executed here in 1812 (a good year for music!)
The truth is that whether you travel by aeroplane or shank's pony there is a risk of accident. Admittedly the thought of death in an aeroplane crash is a little more worrying for most people than walking down the street and being hit by falling masonry – but the end result is the same.
There is an old joke that goes something like "new government figures released today show that 90% of all accidents happen within the home. The government recommend that you move house."
Heb 2:14 Because God's children are human beings — made of flesh and blood — Jesus also became flesh and blood by being born in human form. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the Devil, who had the power of death. 15 Only in this way could he deliver those who have lived all their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. NLT
Jesus moved house to make us safe! He left the security of heaven for a journey that ended in a horrible grisly death – but it meant that we can have peace with God.
Are you afraid?
The fear of death is an absolute reality for many people. Sometimes it is an obsession and a phobia which dominates all of life, other times it is just a dread that overcomes them as the aeroplane screams down the runway and they grip their seat with white knuckles.
It is impossible to say at birth what will happen to a child in its life. The one thing we know is that just as there is joy at the birth, there will eventually be a time of sorrow when death comes. When it comes is not possible to say with certainty, but the fact that it will is indisputable.
Gen 3:22 And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." 23 So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. NIV
When God barred fallen man from the Garden of Eden and therefore from eating the tree of life, it was the kindest act that a loving God could perform for a rebellious child. To be allowed to eat and then live forever in a corrupt and fallen state would be a terrible judgement. By God's grace we can have and encounter with the living Jesus and make our peace with God. Then when death comes it is only a doorway to eternal life in another paradise with God.
John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. NIV
The question today is do we stop at home because 3 aeroplanes have crashed or do we have our trip to Spain? Man has fallen a greater distance than any aeroplane has, and the size of the disaster is far greater than any air crash. Every single man, woman and child on planet earth is affected by the disaster that is the fall. The fabulous news is that the death and resurrection of Jesus give us access to forgiveness and paradise with God.
No one wants a 'horrible' death, but whatever the circumstances, for those who love God and have made peace with Him through Jesus Christ, death is no disaster – just a move of house.
Is it safe to fly? Probably! Is it safe to live without peace with God? Definitely not! Disaster awaits those who ignore His gentle voice, a great flight awaits those who respond to Him.
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. NIV