crashes | The Recovering Legalist

Have you ever seen pictures or video of old, rusty, hollowed out WW2 airplanes found years after the war was over? It’s not too common, but it’s not an unheard of thing to find one these days, 80 years later, alone and forgotten under a canopy of jungle greenery.

What’s rarer still, but again, not unheard of, is the airplane that is found having crashed many decades ago being restored and flown again. Some, like the Lockheed P-38 Lightning that was found in Greenland under 350 feet of snow. It was part of the “Lost Squadron” of 6 fighter planes and a bomber or two that had to make an emergency landing during a blizzard.

This particular fighter airplane was recovered and restored to flight worthiness with the new name “Glacier Girl.”

Another fantastic example was a German Focke-Wulf fw190A that had crashed in a forest near Leningrad, Russia. It was dug out of the forest in 1991 and later sold to some Americans who restored it and flew it!

So what’s the point of all this history stuff? Why am I writing about it?

Today, as I was praying before doing some study, it came to me that I feel a lot like one of those crashed fighter planes. And if history proves true, I’m not the only one who feels it.

I don’t know if it was my pride or objective truth speaking, but there used to be a day when I was a little less intimidated of other Christians, particularly those mighty preachers I gravitated towards as a younger pastor. I knew I wasn’t on their level, but I sure did feel a lot more confident of my spirituality back then. I knew I wasn’t the best I could be, but I felt like I was in the best shape I was capable of being at that time.

Maybe I was. Maybe I wasn’t. Maybe I had a big head. Maybe it was the hair I used to have.

Regardless, I was a fighter, more so than I am now. Then again, maybe I was fighting different battles and don’t need to fly around in aerial mortal combat anymore. All I know is that I feel I am capable of more than I am doing. And these days I’m not intimidated by my would-be peers; I’m just disgusted with myself.

But there is an encouraging part to this story! You see, when those antique planes from the 1940s were recovered and flown again, their need was long gone. Even if there had been a conflict to which they could have been committed, their capabilities and armament would have been woefully obsolete.

However, much to the contrary can be said of folk like me! Even if I had been lost amidst the jungle branches and rusted nearly beyond recognition, the conflict still rages, the enemy is still the same, and the weapons of war have never changed! It’s not even necessary for me to be “repurposed,” for God’s plan for my life has not changed!

Even my “crash-landing” in the Forgotten Forest was part of His overall strategy. What the Enemy thought was an eliminated weapon; God will restore and refurbish for future victory in enemy territory.

So, let’s start knocking of this rust, shall we?

Mark West is not someone that I would call a “close” friend, but he is a brother in Christ and we have the same political persuasion. He is also a friend on Facebook, someone I have met in person, and he has a ranch and a cool race car.

Mark ahead of a couple of Vettes.

Did I say race car?

Maybe I ought to get to know him better…you think? I mean, a race car?

Anyway, if you were watching the last Indy 500 on television, you witnessed a horrific crash. But if you had been my friend Mark West, you would have witnessed it in person. And had you witnessed that crash in person, my hope is that you would have come away with the same insight that Mark did.

But since we are not Mark West, and most of us were probably not at the last running of the Indy 500, let’s read what Mark wrote on his own blog, Awake to Freedom. (Reprinted by permission)

Guest post by: Mark West

Click on the picture to visit original post on Awake to Freedom.

The Indy 500. Daytona 500. Monaco Grand Prix. 24 Hours of Le Mans. These are just a view of the world’s iconic motorsport races.

For me there’s not much more thrilling in sporting events than the combination of horsepower, speed, technology, competition, and fans. And for fans, there’s not much they enjoy more than a good crash. Although a good crash, like beauty, is a matter of perspective.

Strap yourself into a car with the engine revving, tires screeching, and the speedometer in the three digit zone, and there’s no such thing as a GOOD crash. The fact is, if you’re inside the race car, any crash is a bad crash. (I know, I’ve been in a couple of my own three digit racing crashes which you can view here and here.) But sit back in your favorite La-Z-Boy recliner, or better yet, at the Indy 500 between Turns 1 and 2, as I was this week, at the 101st running of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” and a crash is an added “bonus” to the fans.

Sitting in the stands on Sunday at the Indy 500, I could not have anticipated viewing one of the most jaw-dropping crashes I’ve ever witnessed. It was lap 53 of 200 laps. The race had been perfect so far. There had been no yellow, or caution flags. The drivers were at their best. The cars were nearly a blur as they flew around the track, 40 seconds per lap, at an average speed of 220 miles per hour. My favorite driver in the race, Fernando Alonso from Spain, a two time world champion in Formula 1, but a rookie to the Indy 500, had worked himself into the lead.

A pack of cars came down the front stretch and slowed just slightly as they maneuvered through turn 1. As I sat there, the “bonus” happened, directly in front of me. Jay Howard lost control and hit the outside wall. As he slid back across the track, Scott Dixon, the pole winner, had no place to go and rammed into the back of Jay’s car. The thud we heard was unmistakable, and we watched in disbelief as the next several seconds unfolded. Immediately Dixon’s car was catapulted high into the air and the four time IndyCar champion was simply along for the ride. His years of experience and success provided no advantage.

As Scott’s car careened through the air, his life literally hung in the balance. How would his car land as he flipped towards the wall and catch fence? Would he survive such a horrific crash? Could he, like many of his fellow racers in the past, skirt death?

As the crash video reveals, Dixon’s aerial flight came to an abrupt and violent impact with the inside wall on the right side of his car. The impact caused massive damage with the #9 car disintegrating into a thousands pieces. As the car continued to twist and turn, it flipped upside down and then back over, sliding to a stop with only one of the four wheels left intact, and half the car missing. Miraculously, Scott climbed out of the car, unhurt and waving to the crowd.

But… what if?

What if Dixon’s car had rotated just a quarter turn more and instead of landing on its side, it had landed driver first, into the wall? I shudder to think what the outcome would have been. But it’s not too far fetched to consider. The fact is, something very similar happened six years earlier at another IndyCar race in Las Vegas when a massive crash launched former champion and Indy 500 race winner, Dan Wheldon, into the air. As I watched the race live, the driver would suffer blunt force trauma to his head. And Wheldon, whose career would likely have seen many more wins and successes, breathed his last that day, at age 33. He left behind a beautiful wife and two young boys.

Following the race at Indy last Sunday, the thought occurred to me just how fragile life is. One driver dies. The other lives. Some might suggest luck plays a part in the outcome, as if it’s merely a flip of a coin to determine whether it’s heads you live, or tails you die.

But ultimately no amount of skill, preparation, goodwill or luck will prevent our taking our final breath. Rather, death is something that will come to us all, sooner or later, as the Bible affirms:

“Each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment.”

Death. It’s a sobering thought that most of us avoid and refuse to consider. Yet it will happen to all of us, without a doubt.

So, the real question is how will we live our lives until the figurative coin lands on tails? But even more importantly, will we be prepared for that moment when the inevitable occurs? For as we just read, we will all be judged, not only for how we have lived our lives, but more importantly in whom and what we trusted for our eternal future.

I don’t know what your personal standing is with God but here’s is the truth of God’s Word – the Bible. In Romans 3:23 we are told “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” In other words we have all fallen short of God’s standard of perfection. Because of this fact, we learn in Romans 6:23 that “the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” God is clear that without His Son we can expect death eternally.

The eternal life offered by God is as a result of His Son’s death and resurrection as we see in Romans 5:8: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Finally, while God did this for us, we must accept His gift of salvation. Romans 10:9 tells us “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” This is the road to true peace and freedom… and assurance of your eternal future, once that final moment comes for you and me.

If you want to pursue this matter further, here is a relevant website that deals further with life, death, and eternity: http://www.areyouagoodperson.org/ Or send me an email and let’s grab coffee and talk.

Whether you are a motorsports fan or not, we all share the common need to prepare for what lies ahead. I hope and pray you have done so, or if not, you will do so today.