WAITING TO LAND

Recently, my wife, Keva had to travel to Atlanta, Georgia on a project for the company she works for.  I hated for her to travel there alone and I had plenty of off time saved up.  So I decided to drive her to Atlanta and stay with her until her task was complete. 

We drove to Atlanta along Interstate 20 and as we neared the big city we noticed a remarkable site that I had never seen before.

As we approached from the west and crossed over those foothills just outside the massive city, Atlanta’s lights glowed brightly in the distance.  That sight alone for country people like my wife and I was exciting.  But then we noticed the lights in the sky. 

The night sky was crisp and clear.  From our vantage point it was easy to distinguish the lights of the great city from the lights of the massive night sky.

The Atlanta Hartsfield airport is west of the city.  I knew that it was a very busy airport but didn’t realize how busy until we neared Atlanta that evening. 

There, above us, almost like they were lining up, were scores and scores of airplanes.  It seemed to us that they were standing in line, waiting for their turn to land at the airport.   I guess in fact that is exactly what they were doing, yet traveling at a very high rate of speed.

I thought of all the people seated in those planes flying along at such a great speed.  Some were nearing the end of a long business trip.  Some of them were anticipating meetings with relatives who were already there.  Some were excited about what they were going to see and do when they arrived.  There may have been someone on one of those planes who was anticipating the meeting of someone special, perhaps a bride about to see her groom. 

They had no idea who was “in line” before them or after them.  Their thoughts and attention was there in the airplane.  They were reading books, watching movies, eating, drinking and talking. 

I thought how much that mimics our Christian expedition.  We all are on a journey and are rapidly approaching the end of that voyage whether we realize it or not. 

We are all busy reading, studying, talking, eating, drinking and being merry.  Most of us have not bothered looking out the window to see how close we might be to our destination.    

Some of us started on this journey long ago. The trip has been lengthy.  The work has been tiring.  Oh, we have had some good times and met some good people along the way.  But we are tired and can’t wait to get home. 

Some of us are looking forward to the relatives and friends who have gone before us to that great “City”.  We can’t wait to see them. 

Some of us have pondered for years about the glory and splendor of that beautiful place.  Although the Word tells us “eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him”.  Still we can’t wait to experience that wonder.

Some of our minds are on The One who is so special to us.  We long to see Jesus.  We are His bride and He is our groom. 

But sadly, there are many who are not expecting to arrive.  Their only thought is the trip. When they stepped on this plane it was as if they never expected to exit.  How foolish. 

One day our plane will arrive.  We don’t know exactly when.  We don’t know what our place in line might be.  For those of us who are ready it will be a great “touchdown”. 

I hope you are anticipating your landing. It has been planned for a long time. 

Hey, look out the window.  I think I can see the lights of the city.