While sitting in the flight deck or your assigned jump-seat, after the checklists are complete and you are out of “sterile” and in cruise, allow yourself to connect with God. “Use me, Lord; help me to do your will, show me how to take up my cross and follow you in a deeper and meaningful way, so that I can be a fragrance for your glory. In Jesus name…Amen.”
Visualizing Ministry in Your Workplace
Are you aware, that where you are working right now is a place for ministry for the glory of God? If you do not see this viewpoint, see it…and visualize it! Recognize that wherever you are working at this time, God’s Spirit works through you, so that others may learn to know and see who God is.
Paul shares in Romans 10:14 “But how can they call on Him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about Him? And how can they hear without a preacher?” You might be thinking: I am not a preacher, this is a stepping-stone position in the aviation industry, I am not going to be here long because I want to do something greater so that I can give more money to the church, or work hard so that I can retire and give more time to God. Stepping-stone or not, we can be an aroma, a fragrance, for God at this time. (In 2 Corinthians 2:14, Paul speaks of puts us on display in Christ and through us spreading the aroma.) Whether you are a pilot, flight attendant, mechanic, parts and materials, quality and control, flight instructor, janitor, customer service agent, working behind the scenes in administrative roles, dispatch, or crew tracking, God uses you.
You might think, “I cannot explain things well” or “I make mistakes in life” or “I am not a good role model.” But God can use you for His glory. Keep bringing yourself to the feet of Jesus daily. We all mess up, but we need to daily deny ourselves and take up the cross. In Luke 9:22, Jesus prophesied about His death and resurrection, how the Son of Man would be killed and be raised the third day. Then in the next verses Jesus shared, “If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will save it. What is a man benefited if he gains the whole world yet loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory and that of the Father and the holy angels…” (Luke 9:23-26).
Who Is Jesus?
Many people that we work with have no idea of who Jesus is, and how He redeemed us in order that we could be in relationship with God. Many do not understand that a price, a ransom, needed to be paid and accepted by God in order for us to be able to be in good standing with God, a need that came about when in the Garden of Eden our parents of humanity, Adam and Eve, willingly chose to disobey God’s command. A boundary line was drawn; humanity was handed over to sin, which was death. There was a disconnect in our relationship with God. Our human relationship with God was broken and sin and death would reign over us, unless a price was paid.
A simple analogy I once heard helps me to understand. A guilty person stands before a judge, facing a massive fine they cannot pay. Justice demands payment, but the judge, representing God, steps down from the bench, removes his robe, and pays the fine, the entire penalty, himself. God came in the flesh, born of a virgin, to separate the lineage of the seed of sinful nature. He lived a perfect and sinless life. Sacrificing his life, Christ took the penalty upon himself, and the guilty person, the sinner, is legally declared as righteous because the debt is paid in full by another, not by their own efforts. The judge’s love provides the payment, allowing for both justice and mercy.
Humans would not be reconciled to be with God for eternity unless a perfect sacrifice was provided. John the Baptist, when seeing Jesus approaching, proclaimed, “Here is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). The Prophet Isaiah had written, “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter and like a sheep silent before her shearers, He did not open His mouth” (Isaiah 53:7). By faith, all we have to do is confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead … and then we will be saved. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:9,13).
