"By airplane?!" Now Jason really looked excited. "That's cool! I hope it's one of those big jumbo jets. I've always wanted to ride on those things. Oooo! I can hardly wait!"
Mr. Jensen grinned and looked over at Julie. A worried look had replaced her usual excitement. He reached over and gently squeezed her arm. "Does that make you nervous, Sissy?"
#11: Lift Or Pull?
A Character story about trust.
Lift Or Pull?
The twins bounded into the kitchen where their dad was just washing his hands for supper. "Hi, Dad," Jason greeted.
"Hi, son. I missed you when I got home. What were you reading in your room?"
"Oh, just a murder mystery I got at the library," he replied, and then hastened to add, "but it's OK, there's hardly any bloody parts."
"And how was your Bible reading time today?" Mr. Jensen asked without commenting on the book.
A pause followed. "I ... I guess I didn't have time for that today. But I'll try to do better tomorrow."
"You can't keep us waiting any longer, Daddy," Julie interrupted. "What's the secret?"
"Yeah, tell us," Jason agreed, glad to change the subject.
"OK," Mr. Jensen chuckled. "I can tell you now since everything is confirmed. But let's sit down to eat while the food is hot." After thanking the Lord for the food, Mr. Jensen continued. "Now, where should I begin? . . . When we found we were going to have a new addition to our family, we thought it would be good to get away for a short vacation before then. I called my brother John and . . well, to make a long story as long as possible, we're going to visit him next month for a couple of weeks."
"You mean in Arizona?" Jason could hardly believe it. "When are we going? How will we get there? What should we take?"
"Hold on," replied Mrs. Jensen with a chuckle. "There's still time to plan what to take."
"Wow! That will be neat!" Julie responded, and then looked at her Mother with concern. "But, Mom, will you feel up to taking such a long trip?"
"That's kind of you to think of me," Mrs. Jensen said, "but I'm feeling just fine. Anyway, to cut the travel time, we are going to fly."
"By airplane?!" Now Jason really looked excited. "That's cool! I hope it's one of those big jumbo jets. I've always wanted to ride on those things. Oooo! I can hardly wait!"
Mr. Jensen grinned and looked over at Julie. A worried look had replaced her usual excitement. He reached over and gently squeezed her arm. "Does that make you nervous, Sissy?"
Julie looked up and nodded. "It's just .. so high up. What if it crashes? I think we'd be safer driving the car, don't you?"
Mr. Jensen returned an understanding smile. "Well, we are just as safe in the arms of God in the air as we are on land, wouldn't you say? And anyway, we can trust old Bernoulli's law since God is the one who made it in the first place."
"Ber... what?" the twins both asked.
"I was hoping you'd ask," Mr. Jensen chuckled. "He was a mathematician who lived in the 1700s and worked out the theory behind flight. You see, the air rushing over the top of a wing causes a vacuum and this lifts the airplane into the air. Unless God cancels this law, we are safe to count on it working for our plane too."
"But the plane is so . . so big!" Julie protested. "Doesn't gravity pull down on it?"
"Oh, yes, very much. Both forces are present. But the law of lift overcomes the law of gravity. If the plane stopped moving forward, then the law of lift would stop and the law of gravity would take over." Mr. Jensen paused and looked over at Jason. "This reminds me of two laws in the Christian life, Jason. They are mentioned in the first part of Romans chapter eight. This says that 'the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.' This means that if I stay close to God, I will not be feeding the sin nature and I can have victory over temptation. If I don't, then I will automatically give in to the law of sin and death and will be defeated. Jason, this is why I am concerned that you are filling your mind with murder stories and neglecting God's Word. Such books can't strengthen you against the temptations of Satan."
Jason blushed slightly. "I know you're right, Dad. I get into a story and pretty soon I can't put it down. Then I forget to do the things I'm supposed to."
"We all have that problem in something, Son," Mrs. Jensen assured him. "We have to work at keeping first things first every day we live."
"That's right," Mr. Jensen agreed. "And when we get on the plane next month, we can get first hand proof that the power of lift can be greater than the pull . . . as long as we keep moving."
Suddenly Julie's face brightened again. "Hey, can we see the Grand Canyon while we're there?"
"I'll tell you what," Mr. Jensen said, finishing the last of his meal. "As soon as everyone is done, I'll show you a map of some of the places we can visit."