Proverbs 14:12
“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death”
It was just after midnight on a spring day back in 1954. I was working nights as a jet mechanic in the USAF in Rapid City, South Dakota. For those of you who do not recall the ancient of days when the USAF used F-84 aircraft, the wings were straight, not swept back. On the tip of each wing was a 225 gallon fuel tank.
We were ordered to bring one of the F-84 jets from the flight-line into the hangar for periodic maintenance. There were two of us assigned to bring the fighter jet into the hangar. I was in the cockpit to apply the brakes and the other airman was driving the tow vehicle. The procedure for towing planes was that all battery power had to be disconnected.
We had just started toward the hangar when I saw car lights approaching at a rapid rate of speed. Automatically I tried to turn on the landing lights, but of course there were none since the battery was disconnected. The driver on the tow vehicle flashed his lights on and off but the car kept coming. It was a helpless feeling to know an accident was about to happen and yet could do nothing about it.
The driver was a young pilot in our squadron who should not have been driving on the ramp area. He saw the left landing gear and swerved to miss it, but the large wing tank sliced into the top of his new car between the driver and passenger. He roared out his anger at me for not letting him know we were there. I was a lowly enlisted man and he was a “mighty” officer. He wanted me to know that I was in big trouble!
It is interesting that the next day it was the officer who was in serious trouble and we “lowly” enlisted men were commended for following correct procedure. In like manner we encounter self-opinionated people in our life that reject the claims of the Gospel and no matter how much we “flash our warning lights” they ignore and belittle us. The only thing we can do is keep on doing what we are instructed to do and hope we can save some from destruction.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
360-570-0074
PastorCecil@Daily-E-Votional.com