Thoughts on Christian Living Book #2 by Dr. W. A. Dillard - HTML preview

LOCKED OUT OF THE COCKPIT OF LIFE

“Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision for the day of the

LORD is near in the valley of decision.” Joel 3:14

In recent times, a deranged co-pilot of a Germanwings flight craftily waited until the pilot momentarily left the cockpit then he locked the door so he could not re-enter. It was then that he took control of the airplane and deliberately flew the craft into the Alps Mountains. All the while the pilot beat on the door and screamed at him to unlock it, but being locked out of the cockpit, the only one on board that could have saved the craft, its passengers and crew was powerless. There is a big lesson here.

It seems such a simple statement! Man is created a free moral agent. But the ramifications of that statement are larger than most ever realize. There are three entities of free moral agents in the universe: God, Satan, and mankind. The Creator, God, will not override the free agency of the other two nor will He allow the other two that ability. But our focus is on mankind, so think for a moment.

From the very inception of creation it was fixed that whatever happens to man is of man’s doing. That is why the battle of the ages is for the mind of man. Each individual is a wonderful expression of the Creator endowed with decision making ability of eternal consequence. Accordingly, there is no power in the universe that will prevent an individual decision to trust or not trust in Christ Jesus or be obedient or disobedient to Him and His Word. That is reserved for the free moral agency of every person. It is in the intellectual, emotional, and spiritual heart that decisions are made, direction of life charted, and eternal consequence made sure. It is, in a manner of speaking, the cockpit of life.

It is here that a most tragic thing has occurred. Men have chosen to shut themselves out of their own cockpit! They will not go there. The journey is still in progress. The perils are still many and very real. The end of the journey is certain, and it will end in bliss or in unthinkable tragedy. It all depends on what goes on in the cockpit of life. So, OPEN THE DOOR! TAKE CONTROL! Those who fail at this point will soon realize a tragic end to their journey ten thousand times over more horrible than the Germanwings flight which recently collided with the Alps Mountains. Eternity is a very long time, and with tremendous speed it is coming at you!

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