buckle up

It’s been said that the greatest boxer of all time, Muhammad Ali, made a supernatural declaration on more than one occasion. But it was a flight attendant that crushed his superhuman upper cut with a jab of her own.

When asked to buckle up before take off Ali stated, “SuperMan don’t need no seat belt!” And without missing a beat the flight attendant said, “SuperMan don’t need no plane!”

Perceived invincibility was crushed under the weight of reality.

Gravity has a weird way of humbling us. Walking through life believing that we can handle every situation in our own strength can keep us from recognizing our own misconceptions and inadequacies. That’s why we need the tug of something other-worldly to help keep our humanity in perspective.

We are proceeding down a road at times too recklessly that needs us to take more precaution and make better preparations for the possibility of turbulence in our lives.

In a time when circumstances seem to be more difficult, when times seem to be tumultuous,  and when people’s views are becoming more polarized, what should we remember?

We are humans, not God. Too many people are acting on a false premise of sovereignty. Everyone desires control. Of their own lives. Of others’ decision making. However, we are not qualified for this position of power. Creation is not subject to our demands. We can’t control our desires, our tongues, or our actions. Much less someone else’s. Or the sunrise, the weather, other world powers. Our role is not one of a robot. We have freedoms and liberties to enjoy this life. But we cannot manipulate the natural order to befit our agendas; only God can do that.

Life is eternal, not temporary. YOLO steals from us the value of eternity. To believe that this world is all there is mistakenly robs a lot of people from experiencing what the Bible refers to as “his glorious inheritance” and the “immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe.” Our daily decisions have an eternal impact for our lives.

We are sojourners, not merely residents of this earth. In a world of stalwart loyalties to political and moral affiliations, we fail to see through the lens of an eternal landscape. We shout our praises and scream our obscenities at human figureheads; not realizing that we’re simply passing through on this earth. For those of us who follow Jesus, we must embrace the status of our eternal citizenship in heaven. Our earthly presence is just a blip on the radar of what encompasses our eternal existence.

So back to the Muhammed Ali story. None of us is Superman. We all need to buckle up. We need to walk through life with an accurate perception of how the world works–the world in which God controls. We need to be prepared to face each day–fully trusting God to maintain control of every circumstance in our life. We need to actively participate in accomplishing the purposes of expanding His eternal kingdom.

Remember that gravity has a way of humbling us. Being humbled forces us to look in, look up, and look around. We are human; we’re not perfect nor in control. God is sovereign; nothing happens outside of His knowledge or control. We are all traveling through this life heading to our own desired end; we can embrace our citizenship on this earth or choose to become a citizen of heaven. The riches of one totally eclipses the other!