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Ever since I was in my early teens, I have had a great interest in aircraft and aviation. It seems I have passed on my fascination to my two sons. Keith has built more model aircraft in his time than I can count. Pete went a few steps further, joined the Royal Australian Air Force and became a Fighter Pilot.
The whole aviation scene is just filled with illustrations and examples that relate to life and living. Many-a-times I have found examples from the world of aviation that have helped me explain principles and dynamics from the spiritual world.
Take, for example, the concept of "the point of no return". It's not uncommon to hear pilots use this expression. This phrase is used in two main ways in order to identify……
*The point on a flight at which a plane is no longer capable of returning to its airfield of origin. This is because it has used more fuel than is required to turn around and go back to its point of departure.
* The point during the takeoff roll when there is no longer enough runway ahead of the airplane to safely stop; at this point, the aircraft is committed. It must continue to go forward, rotate and lift off.
The point of no return, then, refers to that moment in time when a line is crossed, so to speak, and there is no going back. The commitment is made. It is irreversible. In our teenage years at our Church, we used to sing a song that went something like this:
There's a line that is drawn by rejecting the Lord,
Where the call of His Spirit is lost:
Even now it may be that the line you have crossed,
Have you counted, have you counted the cost?
Some would want to question the theology of that song. They would argue that we can never go beyond God's mercy and grace. Whatever you feel about that issue, there is a warning in the words of that song. Over the next few entries I want to explore this idea of the point of no return in both its negative and positive applications.
The idea of being irrevocably committed to the Lord Jesus is very positive. But there is a commitment to "the Dark Side" that is anything but positive!
More about this aspect in my next entry.
