Sample Chapter: Do I See Others As You See Them?
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RUSSELL O’QUINN IS one of America’s top test pilots and among its best-known aircraft designers. As a nationally acclaimed speaker, he regularly appears before governors, the military, and the aerospace industry. But, as a believer in Jesus Christ, his personal testimony is even more significant than his storied military career. While sharing his personal testimony, he once related the occasion when he had to depart from a military airfield and land at a civilian airport. The weather was very heavy when the air traffic controller prepared him for his final approach to the runway. As he was descending through the clouds, an urgent voice came through his headset. “Sir, we have an emergency in progress, and we were wondering if you could help us. You’re the only person we can talk to.” Surprised, O’Quinn replied, “Certainly.” The controller quickly briefed him about the pilot of a small civilian aircraft. The pilot had virtually no instruments, he was flying low on fuel, and he was terrified about his plight. O’Quinn quickly requested clearance to abort his descent and turned around in search of this pilot. Sure enough, the plane appeared as a tiny dot on O’Quinn’s radar screen. Coming alongside the plane, he radioed the pilot and said, “Look to the left.” When the pilot saw him, he burst into tears. In spite of the bad weather, the pilot saw beside him one of the world’s most advanced jet fighters. Its multimillion-dollar, high-tech instruments would make a plaything of the weather that threatened both his plane and his life. O’Quinn instructed the pilot to calm down and to practice a few quick maneuvers, explaining that he was going to lead the pilot to safety. Minutes later, after skillfully guiding the disoriented pilot through the clouds and fog, they broke through the haziness at an altitude of about four hundred feet. Suddenly, the other pilot saw the bright, dazzling lights of the runway straight ahead and made a safe landing. Summarizing the event, O’Quinn said something like, “You cannot imagine the depth of emotion that man showed me after we landed.” Now consider that O’Quinn is a world-famous test pilot and aircraft designer. The company he formed to take real jet fighters and convert them into high-performance test beds for the United States Department of Defense has earned him recognition as “owner of the world’s 14th largest jet air force.” He had just worked nonstop for who knows how many hours and was likely tired from his flight, but he immediately requested permission to depart from his own plans and help someone in need. He didn’t complain to the air traffic controller, “What is this guy doing in bad weather without decent instruments? Isn’t he smart enough to check the forecast before heading up in a plane the size of a Honda?” Simply put, O’Quinn saw this person as the air traffic controller saw him: as someone in desperate need of help in a storm that could lead to certain death. Today we ask God, “How do we really see others?” Do we see them as encroachments on our precious time, as nuisances, as necessary evils? Or, do we see them as God sees them...as fellow civilians as much in need of a Savior as you and I are? He’s the ultimate air traffic controller, and He knows with absolute certainty that unless someone pulls alongside them and lovingly guides them to safety, they will crash and burn. Not the crash and burn that means a cleanup job for the Federal Aviation Administration but a crash and burn that means an eternity in hell for the one who doesn’t accept Christ Jesus in time. Our flight log will include many opportunities to help others not only in the rare instances of life and death drama but also in the everyday situations in which we have the opportunity to show others that we genuinely care. Once again Jesus’ words in John 13:34–35 come to mind: “Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other” (MSG). In other words, if we choose to view others as Jesus sees them, our actions will reflect God’s love in concrete ways. Then “What Would Jesus Do” becomes more than a great T-shirt slogan. It becomes a great way to transform others’ lives in fresh, surprising ways. |
