There is a story about two men who were both given parachutes as they were boarding a plane. The first one was told that he would need it if the plane crashed. The second was told that it would make his flight more comfortable. As the flight progressed, both found their parachutes to be far from comfortable. Neither could lie back and rest with it, and the other passengers kept making fun of them and ridiculing them. Finally, the second man threw his to the floor, saying, “This thing is no good. I was lied to.” The first man, of course, kept his on, having been told what it was really for. An hour later the airplane lost power. Man number one was saved, and all others aboard perished.

        The parachute obviously represents Christianity. Some of us hold on to it because we know that it is the hope for eternal life. Others discard it along their walk because they find out that the promises they were given about it did not come to fruition. They had been led to believe that by becoming Christians their lives on this earth would be much more comfortable. God would take their troubles away from them. He would heal broken relationships supernaturally, eliminate any money concerns, heal all their sicknesses, and make life rose. When it doesn’t happen like that, and their focus is not on the true hope of heaven, many lose heart and lay down their parachutes.

        In Unlocking God’s Secrets we discussed the fact that we should be learning from the old saints who lived in the Age of Missions (1730 to 1900) who Jesus wrote to in His letter of praise to the Church of Philadelphia in Revelation 3:7-13, rather than learning from the teaching of much of the modern age church that was written to by Jesus in His letter to Laodicia, in which He said, “I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” Revelation 3:16.

        Lately I have been reading a lot from those people of God from the seventeen and eighteen hundreds. Of course, as was discussed in our book, they spent a lot more time talking about sin and the ongoing need to repent, which means actually turning away from the sin and not just asking God to forgive and then continuing on sinning. But it has really jumped out at me that they also talked a whole lot more about the hope of heaven, and much, much less about God making their lives a walk through the tulips here on earth.

        Yes, God does answer prayers. But the longer we walk with our Lord the more we realize that He does not always give us what we want. He knows what we truly need to prepare us for the eternal life, and often it is far different from what we are hoping for. Relationships are not always restored supernaturally. Money may still be a struggle (although faithful tithing does result in our basic needs being met). All sicknesses are not taken away, no matter how much faith we may have. Even the apostles were not promised that life would be a rose garden, and not only did they live lives of deprivation but all except John died horrible deaths. Of course, they did not have the modern TV ministries to “sow financial seeds” into which would have guaranteed them much cushier lives.

        Jesus told us in John 16:33, “In this world you will have trouble.” He did not say we “might,” He said we “will” have trouble. But He went on to say “But take heart! I have overcome the world.” He has overcome the world, and as long as we keep our parachutes on we will get to witness that fact first hand. That is our true hope.

        We will have troubles. That is a given. “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” 2 Timothy 3:12. If nothing else, the other passengers will make fun of our parachute and ridicule us. God said it would happen, so be prepared. But this world will crash, and the parachute of Christ Jesus will save us. That is our true hope and blessed assurance.

        Definitely, Jesus walks right beside us on our daily journey. He is as close as the tear drops on our pillow. And I can attest that He has worked so many phenomenal miracles in my life that have left me awe struck that I have lost count. But these miracles and answered prayers that you and I have, and will continue to receive, are plusses. The main reason for us to put on the parachute is for the crash that will assuredly come when we die or when God puts a stop to the evil downward spiral of this world. So long as we keep heaven as our daily focus, everything else will lose its overwhelming importance and we will be able to retain that unspeakable joy in our lives that is beyond description. Our citizenship is in heaven. We are just on a very brief journey to get there. Hallelujah!

        One final thought. The thirteenth century Jewish Rabbi and philosopher, Nahmanides, said “the degree of Divine direction to an individual person depends on that person’s individual choice of how close to God he or she wishes to be.” This deep truth was stated a little differently fifty years earlier by Maimonides, whose works are now considered a cornerstone for Jewish thought. Maimonides wrote, “Only the totally righteous have one-on-one Divine direction, and even that guidance may not ensure a life free of pain and suffering. For the rest of us, chance and accidents do occur. It’s our choice as to where we, as individuals, fall within that spectrum of behavior that stretches from intimate Divine direction to total random chance.” We can choose to stay close to God with our parachute tightly buckled or not. The choice is ours.

        With our focus being on Jesus and the heavenly home He secured for us, we will finish the race that Paul talked about. Then we will personally witness what he alluded to in 1 Corinthians 2:9, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him.” While we await that heavenly joy, we should stay as close to God as we can, through prayer and Bible study, so that we might realize the Divine direction we so need and desire on our path that will take us there. With Jesus beside us, and our eyes fixed intently on our heavenly home, we can have joy both during the troubles of this earthly world and in the glorious tear free lives we will experience in the true everlasting world we have yet to see.