Plane Crashes & Life’s Ultimate Question: Are You Ready?

Aloha, this is Frank from Reasons for Hope.

Have you noticed that there sure seems to be an uptick in plane-related accidents so far this year?

We had the midair collision involving American Airlines Flight 5342 and an Army helicopter near Washington D.C.'s Ronald Reagan National Airport in which sadly all 67 people on board died.

Then Vince Neil, the front man of Motley Crue, his Lear jet crashed into another plane, killing another man.

We also have the incident of Delta flight 4819, which was traveling from Minnesota to Toronto, Canada, which clipped the wing upon land.

which it then lost flipped over and burst into flames.

Amazingly, everyone on board survived, and Delta offered them $30,000 apiece for the trouble caused.

Now that seems a bit low if you ask me on the potential value of a human life.

Then recently, a FedEx plane's engines suddenly burst into flames shortly after taking off from New York airport, prompting an emergency landing as onlookers watched in horror.

Because climbing into a tube with wings attached is a scary thing, and life and death hangs in the balance, these stories are gaining in traction, but is flying all that dangerous?

The annual risk of being killed in a plane crash for the average American is about 1 in 11 million.

On that basis, the risk looks pretty small.

You have a 1 in 3 million chance of dying from food poisoning, so you're more likely to die from the plane's food than an aviation crash.

And the next time you have a nap, remember there is a 1 in 2 million chance of dying from falling off a bed or a chair and forget about relaxing in a bubble bath where you have a 1 in 685,000 chance of drowning in the bath.

Then there's the annual risk of being killed in a motor vehicle crash for the average American, which is about 1 in 5000.

All of a sudden flying doesn't seem that bad, but what is truly scary is that eventually something will take us out and most people don't know where or when, so the question is, are you ready to go and do we know where we are going to go when we go?

The Bible is quite clear that heaven and hell is the destination of every soul on the planet, and that can be a daunting thought.

But during the funeral of a friend Lazarus, Jesus made one of the most sobering statements followed by a question that can bring true peace to those who have embraced his offer of salvation through the cross.

In John 11:25 to 26, Jesus said to Martha, I am the resurrection and the life.

He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live and whoever lives shall and believes in me shall never die.

Do you believe this?

See, one out of every one person dies.

We are all going to go somewhere when that day comes.

Will we be with Jesus or apart from him?

Let's not take the risk of entering eternity without Jesus and if we and reasons for hope can help you to know and embrace Jesus as Lord and Savior, reach out to us and ask us to introduce you to Jesus.

It will be our privilege.

Aloha.