Hi, friends in exile, got a minute?
Andrew Meekens was an elder in the International Evangelical Church of Addis Ababa. He was also one of those who died on November 23, 1996, when a hijacked jet ran out of fuel and crashed near the Comoros Islands. According to survivors of the crash, the pilot announced that he would attempt an emergency landing. After this, Meekens stood up and spoke, calming passengers on the flight. Then he presented the gospel of Jesus Christ and invited people to respond. A surviving flight attendant said that about twenty people accepted salvation, including a flight attendant who did not survive the crash.[1]
Christians are the dying offering hope to our fellow mortals.The plane of this world is surely going down. How will we approach that date with destiny? With fear, uncertainty, or faith? Hebrews chapter 11 reports that Jacob, Isaac, and Joseph all blessed the generations that followed them as they were facing death (see vv. 20-22). They spoke of the future with confidence because they were trusting in the only One Who knows the future. So can we.
Smiley Mudd
[1] Beacon, 1/97.
Musings of the Rev. Smiley Mudd 