By now, all of us have seen the videos of a passenger being dragged...
Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries
By Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour
"Done It All "
April 26, 2017
1 John 2:2 - He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
By now, all of us have seen the videos of a passenger being dragged off of a United Airlines' flight. We have heard the comedians joke about it, and we have listened to the excuses, the explanations, and the apologies coming from various official and unofficial sources. We have heard promises of an in-depth investigation and commitments that such a thing will never happen again.
By now, that story from a few weeks ago is old news.
Even so, forgive me for bringing the matter to your attention one more time. More specifically, I would like to reference a note United Airlines' President Oscar Munoz wrote to his employees. Part of that message said his agents "were left with no choice but to call Chicago Aviation Security Officers to assist in removing the customer from the flight."
At the risk of seeming to be picky, that statement's not quite right.
Not every avenue of getting people off the flight voluntarily had been fully explored. Yes, the airline's agents had offered everyone $400 if they would travel later. When that didn't work, the agents raised the incentive to $800. Again, there were no takers.
And that's where the offers stopped. You know how the rest of the nasty story goes.
But here's the thing: the agents had another choice. They could have raised the offer to $1,000! If that offer had fallen on deaf ears, United's representatives could have gone all the way up to $1,350. Now I might turn down $400 to give up my seat; I might even turn down $800, but $1,350 is a different matter entirely.
Now, nobody can ever prove that someone might have accepted the larger sum. Nobody can say what would have happened, but it would have been worth a try.
It would have been good to do all that could have been done.
Now I don't want to be overly judgmental here. I've looked at my life and I have to confess I haven't always done all that could have been done. I could have given to others more; I could have prayed harder; I could have volunteered more; I could have shown greater patience.
When it comes to doing all that can be done, I'm a failure -- and you probably are, too.
In fact, the only Person I can think of who did all that could be done was our Savior.
More than that, Jesus did all that could be done, all of the time. Think about it: when Jesus went to the cross, He was carrying every sin committed by every person who has ever lived. There were no exceptions. Not one. That is why, when He said, "It is finished!" It really was.
His third-day resurrection from the dead says Jesus had been successful in doing all that could be done. And because that is so, all who believe on Him are forgiven and given life eternal.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, I give thanks for a Savor who has done absolutely everything necessary for my salvation. May I do all I can to live a life that always honors Him. In His Name, I pray. Amen
Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM).
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