In a recent episode of Air Crash Investigation, a horrific crash that killed everyone on board the plane could have been prevented had a routine item of maintenance been carried out.

The rear elevator on the tail of the aircraft controls the plane’s pitch, up or down, and roll, left or right. The jackscrew, controlled by the pilot’s action in the cockpit, moves the elevator to keep the plane flying level.

The jackscrew needs to be greased regularly to allow smooth movement. On this plane, the investigators discovered that, because of poor maintenance, the grease had dried out, causing the jackscrew to jam and eventually fail. The plane became uncontrollable and pitched down into the ground.

Isn’t this so like our Christian lives? Routine maintenance will keep us flying level and save us from a fatal crash.

There are warning signals in the plane’s cockpit to alert the pilot to the area that needs attention. It’s up to him to troubleshoot and correct the error if and when he can. If the error is a fault of the plane’s mechanics and function, he must land the aircraft as quickly and safely as he can. If the error is of his own making, he must adjust his behaviour in the cockpit according to strict protocols set by the manufacturer.

How do we maintain this “craft” that is flying through life? Paul gives us the maintenance procedures that take care of the safety of the passengers as well as the performance of the pilot that will ensure the craft’s safe landing at our destination.

We must remember that we do not live life alone. Whatever we say or do affects many others around us. We must live our lives in a way that does not isolate us from others or damage them by our words and actions.

Colossians 3:12-15 NLT
[12] “Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. [13] Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. [14] Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. [15] And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.”

Do you get it? Mercy, tolerance, patience, forgiveness, love…these, and more, keep the passengers on this” aircraft” flying together safely.

As pilots, we have a spiritual “alert” signal that warns us when there is a fault in our function. It’s called “the peace of God”. When our peace is disturbed, we know that somewhere in our words and behaviour, we have malfunctioned. We need urgent maintence to correct the problem to keep the “passengers” safe.

What a picture of doing life together in the church! We all need to maintain our walk with the Lord constantly and consistently so that no malfunction in any of us causes others to be hurt or discouraged. We are all in this together. Just as the pilot is responsible for the safety of his aircraft and passengers by functioning efficiently in the cockpit, so are we in the church, for a safe landing. Any failure or neglect puts the whole congregation into danger.

We have the maintenance manual at hand to keep our lives level and functional all the time, God’s Word, the Maker’s Manual. This book tells us how we were made and how we maintain this marvellous and intricate machine in which we “fly” from earth to heaven.

So let’s do the wise thing… fly our lives safely to our destination.