“View from Altitude - II”

“’Pain with Purpose’ or ‘Pain without Purpose’—You Choose”

Soon after we taxied on to the active, the aircraft commander advanced the throttles and the airframe gathered more and more speed.  The pilot in the right seat called out speeds.  “S1,” “Pickle,” then it came, “Rotate.”   It was then that the aircraft commander pulled back on the yoke and the bump of the tires on the runway was replaced by the sounds of the flaps as they adjusted to the settings for which he had called.  As well there was the sound of the whine and bump of the landing gear as it retracted.

The Vastness of South Dakota

As I sat there in the jump seat I glanced out at the base.  By now we were gaining more and more airspeed and altitude.  There was the taxiway we had just traveled, the hangars with their maintenance folks, Pride Hanger, the various other building, and then as we gained more altitude, base housing came into view.  In a short time I could see 50 or 60 miles out over the patchwork of farmlands toward the badlands.  From up here, how very large this state has become.  It was just a brief look for we were rapidly gaining altitude and soon would turn toward the east and then south on a heading that would take us to the air refueling track.

As I listened to the radios we were passed off to Minneapolis Center.  “Good morning Hoser 54, climb and maintain three five zero.”  The aircraft commander acknowledged with “Hoser 54 out of three zero for three five zero and we would continue our climb to an altitude of 35,000 feet. 

Shifting Perspectives

Ever notice how very quickly the human perspective can shift?  In one moment a person can be traveling the roadways of life, safe, secure, and comfortable.  In the next due to the death of someone near, catastrophic illness, accident of some sort, or some other unforeseen trauma one’s perspective shifts.  It is in those moments and even days that one’s world collapses into the trauma suffered.

Years later during another assignment a pilot stopped by our home one Saturday afternoon.  We both lived on base, he and his family a few streets away.  In a very short period of time and in the telling of the breakup of marriage and family, his emotions took over and he began to grieve, deeply grieve.  His whole world collapsed from all that made up their Air Force life-style and the advantages it offered to the spouse he was soon to lose.   

He was a good pilot, on his way up the promotion ladder, there were good things ahead.  Yet in that moment and other times we spent together he would have traded all—his career, his aviation, and all else for the return and commitment of his wife to their marriage.   

As we continued our climb out, what could and would so dominate one’s view on the ground was soon lost in the vastness of the earth below.  Even  if it could be seen it would be little more than a dot.  By now Minneapolis Center had given us headings to the east and then to the south toward our refueling track.  If one took the time to look outward into the distance, such a view gave one some sense the vastness of South Dakota and Nebraska as we at several thousands of feet crossed the border.  Even now just a few minutes into the mission, the vastness of the difficulties with which the people on the ground struggled, were lost to one’s view. 

The View from Above

Imagine now if you had the power to view the big picture while at the same time viewing all that is lost to one’s view from altitude.  That is how God sees the world and all who inhabit it. 

He sees the eternal big picture to include all that is bounded by time and space and as well that which is without.  The writer of the Psalms notes the vastness of God when he notes that He has a name for every one of the several trillion stars and that not one of them is missing.  At the same time He sees every detail, even the minutest details of every life that has ever lived, is living, or ever will live.

God sees and knows all.  So now comes the question, if God sees and knows all does He understand that there is hurt in my life?  It is at this juncture we do well to look at another word for God, YHWH, or in the English Jehovah.  This is the relational word for God which appears for the first time in Scripture just after the creation of mankind. 

It is the name Jehovah that communicates quite clearly that God is a relational God and that as such He cares when this hurt or that hurt comes into our lives.  When one thinks of God it is not hard to see Him as distant and unrelated but Jehovah or Lord as it is translated gives to us a much different picture.    

Facing Evil

Why is there evil?  Why is there mistreatment of the innocent?  Why was this person allowed to take advantage of another, perhaps a child?  I do not know though I wish I did have answers that brought comfort and calm. 

Most certainly there are those, like C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien who from life’s experience and brilliant intellect can give perspective in the face of these questions.  At this point while I might offer some sort of an answer it would be less than others could proffer. 

However, there are two things I do know.  First, I know that to live in this world (no matter how advanced or undeveloped the culture) is to live in an imperfect world among imperfect people and sometimes in such a world the innocent and helpless are victimized and hurt through no fault of their own.

The second thing I do know is this.  For the genuine real deal Christians—the true follower of Jesus Christ there is a promise written by one who had suffered much, who would be jailed, and would like so many others, die for his faith.  This is the promise,

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28, NASU).

Notice that this was common knowledge “…we know….”  It was not some idle speculation of the demented but the lot in life for the many who would have read those words.  This man knew all too well that following Jesus in no way prevents one from being victimized in this life. 

Pain with Purpose or Pain without Purpose?

However of the many things one might point out, there was and is one more I wish to point out.  We might call this, “The Promise of Purpose.”  It is only in the case of the Christian that God takes things as dismal and distasteful as they may be and brings out of those circumstances “good.” 

Now the question!  If one cannot avoid the painful difficult places of life, and none of us can, would it not be better to live through those things knowing that they can be for “good” purpose as opposed to pain without purpose?

You see one answer leads to being trampled upon, the other to triumph.  

Peace to all who read herein.