You Can Check Out Any Time You Want But You Can Never Leave

You Can Check Out Any Time You Want But You Can Never Leave

Dr. Rick Mandl - July 20, 2020

You Can Check Out Any Time You Want But You Can Never Leave

You Can check out Anytime You Like, But You Can Never Leave
Monday July 20, 2022

 

Hey church family. This whole staying at home thing... Has it messed up any of your travel plans? Are there any trips that you had planned, that had to be postponed, rescheduled, or cancelled? Here’s a sign of the times: an airport is offering passengers who really miss air travel a trip to nowhere. I’m not making this up. Taipei’s Songshan airport made the offer earlier this month, and in response to their offer they received about seven thousand applications. Sixty people were chosen for the half-day “trips” that will continue over the next couple of weeks. Those selected for the phony flights receive boarding passes. They go through the sane airport security process as if they were traveling internationally. They gather at the gate. They then board an Airbus A330 which is Taiwan’s largest plane. They take their seat, and make sure it’s in it’s full upright position and that their tray-table is secured. And then... And then... And then the plane goes nowhere. After a while, the lucky passengers return to the same gate from which they left.

 

As I reflected on that story, I thought, there are a lot of people who had trips planned, who have cancelled them, because they did not want to take the chance of getting on an airplane and traveling with a group of other passengers to whom they were not related, in the midst of a global pandemic. I try not to judge others, but as I heard this story about these flights to nowhere, I couldn’t help but think... How whack do you have to be to get on an airplane in the middle of a pandemic? Not because you’re job requires it... Not because you’re travelling to visit a family member who you haven’t seen in some time, or because you’re attending a wedding or a funeral or some other important event. But simply because you’re bored and you miss sitting on an airplane, and you miss going through airport security. Folks you couldn’t make this stuff up.

 

Psalm 90:12 reminds us, “Teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.” Or as the Living Bible puts it, “Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should.” Ephesians 5:15 says, “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise” (NLT). One of the gifts – and I put that term “gifts” in quotes as I’m using it here. But of the gifts that some of us have been given during this time of “stay at home” or “work from home” or whatever that may look like for you – one of the gifts is more time. How are we using it? Are we making the most of it? Or just waiting impatiently to find out what the next installment of the new normal is going to look like?

 

C.T. Studd said it best: "Only one life, 'twill soon be past, only what's done for Christ will last." I want to challenge you and I want to challenge me to ask ourselves – what are we doing with our time – what are we investing in today that is going to outlast us and make a difference for Jesus and His Kingdom?

 

 

From Series: "Daily Devotional Videos"

Find daily inspiration and motivation with our video devotionals!

Signup for our e-newsletter if you would like to receive these in your personal email account. Or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or Twitter to be notified when we post a new devotional on any of our social media accounts.

More From "Daily Devotional Videos"

Powered by Series Engine