I Can Fly!

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:1-2)

For centuries, man looked to the heavens in the desire to fly, yet were continually defeated until the Wright brothers discovered the law of aerodynamics. Every time I get on an airplane I marvel at the idea that this giant tube can get off the ground when it weighs hundreds of tons (with all the passengers who packed too much weight in their bags, and carry too much weight in their seats). The law of gravity demands that the plane stay right there on the ground. Yet every one of the hundreds of times I have sat in the plane as it rumbled down the runway, it took off just as it was supposed to. From the great big “wide-body” double-aisle jumbos to the little four-seater puddle jumpers, the law of aerodynamics has sent me on my way in safety every time.

The laws of flight are a perfect illustration of the above verses. We are born in sin, and destined to die by the law of sin and death. Just like gravity, we are stuck to this world. All of our lives, we seek to be free to “soar above the eagles”, and find continual frustration due to the law of sin and death. No one is immune from that law, just as no one is exempt from gravity. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) When we trust Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, God gives us his Spirit to override the law of sin and death in our lives. The law of aerodynamics does not cancel gravity, it overcomes it. Gravity is still very much in effect when an airplane flies. But the vacuum created by the design of the wings of an airplane is a stronger law than gravity, and that is what lifts tons of steel above the ground.

It is a good thing that gravity is a fixed law. Think of the challenges presented if all of a sudden without notice, gravity took a break. As a Christian, sin and death are still a part of our lives. It is a fixed law we cannot escape, but we can override it. Even after we are saved, we still sin, and some day, we will die. The “law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” is like aerodynamics. It was put in place by the Creator in the beginning. The Wright brothers did not invent aerodynamics, they discovered it. Too many Christians are trying to “invent” a way to deal with sin instead of simply accessing the “law of the Spirit of life” that God put in place from the beginning and gave us the day we got saved. Open your Bible, obey its commands and principles, and walk with God. The longer you “walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16, 25), the more “ground speed” you can build. At some point, the law of the Spirit of life will kick in and free you from the law of sin and death so you can overcome the “sin that doth so easily beset us.” (Hebrews 12:1)

Once airborne, an airplane can hit pockets of air that can make the ride pretty rough. We call that “turbulence”, and it pictures the inevitable struggles every believer faces. When those times come, don’t give up and quit “flying”. Even when things don’t seem to be working, and the ride gets scary, the law of the Spirit of life always works. When an airplane crashes, it is because something happened to cause the law of aerodynamics to quit operating. Aerodynamics is a law. It always works. Bible Christianity always works. Never stop reading, serving Christ and others, doing right and fleeing from evil, praying, and sharing your faith.

The ultimate in “flying” is when a rocket accesses the law of aerodynamics sufficiently to escape the earth’s gravity into outer space. In that environment, gravity is no longer an issue. Some day soon, the last trumpet will sound, and God will take us home to be with him forever. In heaven, the “law of sin and death” is done away with forever. May it be today!