Most of us think that an airline pilot has an exciting and interesting job. Perhaps he does, but I have heard it described as “hours of boredom, punctuated by moments of sheer terror.”
Boredom a problem
This certainly can describe many flights which are at altitudes too high to see much on the ground, or worse, over clouds. There is little feeling of motion in spite of the high speed. Once the novelty of the job wears off, there remains only the tension of great responsibility and frequent checks of position, course, and of the aircraft engines to help fight boredom. If anything out of the ordinary happens, it is often dangerous and frightening. And there must be times when landing at a busy airport in bad weather is a challenge to the most experienced of pilots.
Prearranged plan
On each flight, the pilot must select a flight plan, and then follow it on a steady and constant course to his destination. Once the flight plan has been filed with flight controllers, the pilot must have good reason to vary it no matter how monotonous the route. At the same time, he must be ever alert.
The disciple of Christ has a course determined for his life. Paraphrasing the words of Paul in Philippians 3:9-14, the disciple is seeking a righteousness which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith to attain the resurrection from the dead. For this, he must press on to make it his own, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, pressing on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Steady course needed
Like the course of the airline pilot, our course must be a steady one, not diverted by external circumstances. We are travelers, “strangers and pilgrims on the earth,” “desiring a better country, that is, a heavenly one.” Our life, our actions are based on the will of God, expressed in His commandments and the teachings of His Son, Jesus Christ.
To some, a steady course, such as we have described, will seem arbitrary and unreasonable, behind the times, not keeping up with progress.
Depending on who is criticizing us, and what they stand for, we may disregard such criticism or analyze it to extract any helpful guidance. But our final responsibility is to serve God in the best way we know how, in spite of what anyone else may say.
Paul’s steady course
In I Thessalonians 2:1-8, Paul develops this theme. He walked a steady course, maintaining his effort in the face of great opposition, vehement criticism, hatred and physical violence. He was flogged and imprisoned at Philippi. Leaving there, he came to Thessalonica and again met with strong opposition.
Yet he did not waver in his service to the Lord. His course was set and steady, based on a firm foundation of the Truth. He had planned it out with a proper understanding of God’s will and he was directed by motives of faith, love and hope in the promises of God.
His appeal contained no errors or uncleanness. He did not use guile or trickery (v.3) or flattery (v.5). He did not waver in his course because he had been entrusted with the gospel of God (v.4). Since he spoke to please God rather than men, unwise criticism or opposition had little influence on him. Since he was not motivated either by greed or by a desire for glory from men (vs. 5,6), he had no need to fear men.
Steady with growth
Yet having a set course does not mean that we are insensitive to the needs of others or that we are not changing in any way. Paul says, “We were gentle among you, like a nurse taking care of her children” (v.7). And in I Corinthians 9, he speaks of becoming like the Jews, or like those outside the law, or like the weak, that he might win some of all of these groups to Christ.
The course of the disciple is a course of change, or at least it should be. We are traveling away from the flesh and journeying toward the way of the spirit. But the destination must not change and the principles of our walk to get there must not vary. Our Lord said, “I am the way, and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but by me” (John 14:6).
The way of Christ is a way of growth. If we look back five years from now and say, “I haven’t changed a bit,” then those are five wasted years. Our course should be set for growth in the quality of our spiritual life, and this involves development.
We are to work to make a difference in our lives, a difference from yesterday, from last month, from last year. Are we closer to God now than we were before? Are we showing more love? Are we serving Him more?
One thing is sure, we will never run out of room for improvement. We may make the mistake of becoming self-satisfied and stop looking for ways to improve. If we look honestly, however, they will be easy to find.
Patience needed
We must travel our voyage with patience. We are often eager for a change, eager for God to change our circumstances, but not so eager for Him to change us. We are often unwilling to wait for God to work things out.
A prime example of this is Rebekah and Jacob. They did not wait for God to give the promised blessing of the firstborn to Jacob, but tricked Isaac in order to obtain it. As a result, Jacob had to leave home and he and Rebekah probably never saw each other again.
In contrast to this, David had two easy opportunities to slay Saul and immediately obtain the throne which God had promised him. But David traveled his pilgrimage with patience. He would not slay the Lord’s anointed, but waited for God to remove Saul.
Weariness a danger
We can become impatient through weariness. The airline pilot may become weary and his alertness can fade, placing his passengers and himself in danger.
As the years go by and the Lord does not return, do we grow tired and less interested in the way that God has chosen for us? If so, our example and influence can put our fellow pilgrims in spiritual danger, to say nothing of the risk to ourselves.
Has our alertness and enthusiasm faded? Is our attention to the daily requirements and minute-to-minute details of love and service gradually fading because of our greater interest in the seemingly harmless “eating, drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage?” These things are not evil in themselves, but they can distract us so as to bring an evil neglect of the way of God.
Maintain enthusiasm
We have Christ’s message to the ecclesia at Ephesus in Revelation 2:1-5.
The Ephesian believers had not yet fallen into the problem of impatience. They were enduring but they had lost their enthusiastic zeal. “I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary” (v.3).
What then was the problem? Their fervor, their enthusiasm had faded. “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then from what you have fallen, repent and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place unless you repent” (vs. 4,5 RSV).
Perhaps the Ephesian brethren were spending more time attaining for themselves security and comfort and less time visiting the elderly and lonely, less on helping the poor and ill, and showing less concern for spreading the good news and helping those whose faith was wavering.
A high standard
We see the high standard set for us. It is not enough just to do as good a job of serving God as someone else is doing. We must each seek to do our very best — the best we can possibly do. Seek how you can do better. Never assume you are doing good enough.
Yet let your seeking be a patient seeking. Let “the peace of God which passes all understanding” dwell in your heart. We are not called to a constantly frantic effort to serve God. We are called upon for a steady, enthusiastic, and faithful effort — the steady course toward the kingdom.
In the parable of the sower we read, “As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bring forth fruit with patience” (Luke 8:15).
In Colossians 1:11, we have, “May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy.”
And in James 5:7-8 we read, “Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it until it receives the early and the late rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”
Let us therefore set a steady course of development, of spiritual growth, with the constant goal of the glorious kingdom of God and travel our pilgrimage with patience.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One