A private jet carrying nine people plummeted to the ground at a very high speed in Palm Beach County, Florida on Sunday. The jet exploded into a massive fireball on impact, killing all nine onboard and producing a giant crater at the impact site. According to officials investigating the crash, the pilot reported light ice and some turbulence shortly before issuing a mayday call. Despite the intensity of the crash and the devastation for the families of the nine passengers, it appears there were limited injuries to those on the ground.
Analysis and eternal perspective: James 4:14 calls your life, “a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” This story certainly underscores that sobering truth, and there is a temptation to wallow in the reality that our lives are fragile and short at best.
The truth, however, is that your purpose is everlasting! You and I have a brief moment here on Earth during which we are to live in the temporal with the eternal in mind. That sounds extremely theoretical, but Psalm 39:4-5 helps us find some context: “Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.”
Our days are short by God’s design. We were not created to be long on the Earth, but rather to spend forever with Him. The psalmist’s plea here is not to extend his days, but rather to understand the purpose for his days. There is tremendous freedom in being released in the here and now to live with abandonment for the purposes of heaven.
“God, grant our community here at The Equipped with the ability to set our hearts on heaven. May that rooting cause us not to detach from the needs of those around us, but rather to engage with a loving fervor that overcomes earthly bounds. Help us to know and understand our earthly end in order that we might effectively draw others into an eternal relationship with you!”
The preceding article originally appeared in Thann’s “The Equipped” Weekly Newsletter. For more information on Thann’s weekly email, click here.