Where Are We?
It was a clear night in the summer of 1995 when American Airlines #965 from Miami was setting up for the final approach to the Cali Columbia Airport. It was so routine that the crew had been discussing seniority in the company rather than paying close heed to the position of their new Boeing, equipped with the latest navigational equipment.
Captain Nick Tafuri called across the yard to his neighbor, when leaving his home in Miami that night "see ya tomorrow night"…but there was no "tomorrow night"for the captain…it was "this night."
"Where are we?" These were the final three words of First Officer Don Williams on the ill-fated flight three minutes before it plowed into the side of a Colombian mountain five miles from the airport, taking 157 souls with it. They came so close to avoiding that tragedy. The First Officer immediately pulled up on the aircraft, but those big turbofans take time to spool up. Their desperate bid for altitude was too late. A reporter so rightly assessed the tragedy in the words: "The most important question came too late."
Some people would like to think that no one knows for sure where they are going, or where they will be when they take that final flight into Eternity. The Bible clearly informs us of our position and condition, and confirms where we will be forever.
"Where are you, my friend?"
There are those who try to convince us that we are going nowhere, and humanity does not have a destination, that we are just in a cycle. If man has no destiny, he has no duty, no obligation, and no responsibility. He has no guidelines or goals. Who is to say what is right or what is wrong? Who is to say a partner can’t break and ruin a marriage? Who is to say people can’t live together before they are married? It is your value system against mine! No absolutes, no principles, no ethics, no standards! Life then is reduced to weekends, paychecks, and quick thrills. If man has no future, really he is not worth much! However, we know better from the Word of God. The Lord Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life, no man cometh unto the father but by me!" (John 14:6). Had God given 1,001 ways to Heaven, the sinner would still want one more because of the nature of his evil heart! The dominant desire of human beings is to go their own way. Man has received wrong directions. The devil told him in the Garden of Eden that he did not have to listen to God. What did he think would be best? Since taking those wrong directions, man gropes amid ignorance and error, for God has declared, "The way of the wicked is darkness" (Proverbs 4:19). Again the Lord Jesus said that he was the door to the narrow way that leads to life (John 10:9). When you trust Christ as your Savior, that He paid the penalty for your sins on the Cross, taking God’s Word for it…you are declared by God as "saved" (Romans 10:9).
Dear friend, I am sure that you just heard of another unexpected tragedy on March 24, when Germanwings #4U9525, an Airbus A320, crashed in the French Alps while en route from Barcelona to Dusseldorf. You do not know when your life will end.
Why not take a minute to ask yourself the most important question before it is too late:
"Where am I? Where am I going?"
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31).
