Arriving and Leaving

(A night in the San Francisco International Airport exposes the emotional nature of departures and arrival.)

Watching a long overdue greeting at an airport is amazing. It is full of excitement and tenderness and relief.

The same thing can be said about leaving a place. What about when you leave but you aren’t ready to leave?

Isn’t it an instant tearjerker? I can remember when my wife and I were single,we were dating from a long distance. When I would leave after visiting her I tried to hold my tears back every time. Of course one or two would escape but it wasn’t enough to even begin to demonstrate what I was feeling and thinking.

So as I begin planning for my next flight I have been thinking about other emotions associated with airports, like anxiety. I think it begins before you even arrive at the airport. I t slowly increases as you get closer to the terminal and then you have to go through security and eventually reaches it’s height during takeoff into flight.

I think airports can capture a large range of human emotions. Imagine if they could capture your thoughts. What impact would that have on security and anxiety?

Here’s how it would work. Suppose there was a way to put a device in your brain that would record all your private thoughts… and then as you get ready to travel they could be reviewed by airport security professionals. So if someone had been thinking of any sinister plans before flying they would be known ahead of time and stopped beforehand.

But would anxiety be decreased or increased? I mean your private thoughts to be seen by others. Wow, I think that would make us keep a constant watch for what we are thinking.
So then imagine your thoughts are in some airport security computer and a hacker takes those thoughts and displays them on Youtube or something like that. All your friends and family and strangers would be able to see them.

That brings me to something much more important. While this technology may or may not be available someday or even legal to apply, do you think that God knows your inner most secret thoughts?The bible says, “God knows the secrets of the heart” (Psalm 44:21) So then, if this is true there is nothing that we can hide from God.

It is true that 10 out of 10 people die. Think about this, every second approximately three people die. By the time you lay your head on your pillow tonight over 150,000 people will have died in a 24 hour period. The bible says, “it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,” (Hebrews 9:27). On judgement day how will you do?

So some people go to bed everyday living by the scales. Asking the question, “did I do more good than bad today?” (To find out take: The Good Person Test). They think that by doing more good than bad they will have access to eternal life. Some try to live “a good life” or are religious or they follow an ethical philosophy, or that they must workout all the “negativity” that is within them through some sort of esoteric “cleansing” practice, and yet others say they are not sinners.

This is what Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me.” (John 14:6).

You can’t earn eternal life. It is God’s gift to all who humble themselves and come to Jesus.

The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ provides full and free deliverance from the power and penalty of sin. It is the grace of God alone through faith in Jesus Christ alone that salvation is given.

1 Corinthians 15 1-4 ,gives a summary of this good news.

As we go through life experiencing anxiety… keep in mind that we have all been born as sinnners and that none of us deserve to be forgiven of our sins by God. It is only through the mercy and grace of God through Jesus, that there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus but only everlasting joy. (Romans 8)