How's It Going?

One of the top golfers in the world, and one of my personal favorites, Payne Stewart, was killed on October 25, 1999 when the private Learjet in which he was a passenger crashed to the ground at a speed of over 600 miles per hour. Five others, including two pilots, were also killed in the crash.

I remember watching the event unfold on the news over several hours. The flight originated in Orlando and was headed to Dallas but somewhere over northern Florida it strayed off course and headed in a northwestern direction. There was no radio contact and the jet continued flying until it ran out of fuel and crashed in a field near Mina, South Dakota. U.S. Air Force planes were sent up to intercept the Learjet and attempt to discover the source of the problem and, as I recall, they were unable to see inside the plane because of frost covering the windows.

In his book, Renewing Your Spiritual Passion, Gordon MacDonald, relates a similar story about another plane crash in which a well-known college football coach perished. His observations are very insightful. He writes: Had you and I been standing on the ground looking upward as that small plane flew eastward, we would not have known that anything was wrong inside. Assuming that we could see it in its high flight, I might have been apt to say, ìLook at that sleek jet. It sure is flying high and fast.î Our impressions would likely have been quite positive until the plan began its exhausted descent to tragedy. Then we might have reflected on how little we actually knew about what was going on inside.

Could this also often be said about our lives? From the outside we might appear to have it all together; to be moving through life in fine fashion, all the while on the inside things are in great disarray. We all have a tendency to present ourselves in the best light possible. That's natural. But I wonder if we might take that to an unhealthy extreme. Could we be running out of fuel and headed for a crash?

Life goes on whether we are prepared for it or not. Unless Jesus returns, the sun will come up tomorrow and other days will follow after that. Each one full of pressures, expectations, demands and challenges. Will we be ready for it?

It is critical that we check all ìsystemsî to be sure everything is functioning as it should. Careful maintenance is a must. Our interactions with our families, friends, work associates, enemies, and even casual acquaintances all hinge on our relationship with God. If that one goes lacking...what can we expect of the others? We simply cannot neglect the most important things in order to deal with the most demanding things.

Jesus called us to the abundant life. ìAbundanceî is terminology indicating quality not quantity. The abundant life only exists to the degree that the inside is as together as the outside appears. So how's it going...on the inside