Never Stranded

written October 11, 2017

Romans 8:37-39 - No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. People who travel for pleasure know that you can get a really good deal if you book your airline and hotel at the same time. People who travel for pleasure also know that the opening sentence is true only if you can trust your airline to pay for the hotel room.

Monarch Airlines, the fifth-largest carrier in Great Britain, was an airline which couldn't be trusted.

I use the past tense of the verb because last week Monarch Airlines filed for bankruptcy.

Sadly, Monarch was particularly nasty in the way they went belly-up.

• For instance, two days before they went under, Monarch began a promotional sale of tickets at discount prices.

• Then Monarch let people show up at the airport only to be told there that their flight had been cancelled. This was an especially nasty surprise to the couple who, with 30 family and friends, were traveling to an overseas location for their wedding. Ten minutes before boarding they were told their flight had been cancelled, and they had lost their money... and good luck booking a same-day flight for 30 people on another airline.

• Then there were the 110,000 travelers who were stranded in distant countries. They had no plane coming to take them home.

• Could it get worse? It could. Some of those folks staying in overseas locations had booked their hotels through Monarch. Sadly, Monarch never paid those hotels. As a result, all of those tourists are being charged a second time for their rooms. Some of them have been locked out of their rooms; some of them have been informed they will be arrested if they try to leave without paying; and all of them have been severely inconvenienced.

• Oh, I forgot to mention Monarch's 2,750 employees were suddenly out of a job.

Has it ever occurred to you that after Adam and Eve fell into sin, the Lord could have left humanity high and dry? After all, He had given us everything we needed; He had granted us a perfect life and made only one very small request.

In response, our ancestors rejected His request, disobeyed His Law, and followed an evil stranger.

Truly, the Lord would have been well within His rights to leave us, but He didn't. He sent His Son to save us, to carry our sins, to die our death, and change eternity for all who believe. Because Jesus has done everything necessary to save us, St. Paul was able to confidently write: "I am sure that neither death nor life ... nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

In short, God will never leave us high and dry.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, in this sinful world, people may often let us down. Thankfully, You are different. For being there, always, even until the end of the age, accept our thanks. In Jesus' Name Amen.

The above devotion was inspired by a number of sources, including one written by Richard Wheatstone on October 3, 2017 for The Sun. 




In Christ I remain His servant and yours,

Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour