My 21st Birthday... In a Way

How can a man that is 41 years of age and Someone born in September say that today is his 21st Birthday? Today is the 21st Anniversary of the bombing of Pan-Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. My sincere prayers go out to the families of the victims, the people of Lockerbie, and the members of the RAF Mountain Rescue and Emergency Services who assisted in the aftermath of this tragedy.

In the spring of 1988, I was a sophomore in college. I was looking forward to a semester in London. I thought if I stay until December 21st, I can have Christmas in England and in America. My father's travel agent got us a pretty good deal on Pan-Am. Some time in either June or July of that year, the travel agent switched the tickets to Northwest Orient because he heard a rumor that Pan-Am might go on strike. That is why I am alive! It is atleast the reason I did not die on that plane 21 years ago today.

In pre-Christian Europe there was celebration after December 21st passed. A celebration of a "new" Sun. A celebration of life-renewed. Maybe there is some residue of a primordial pagan essence that links their celebration with my avoidance of such a dire tragedy.

But as Christians we all have Life-Renewed. We all have a "New Sun." We have this in the person of Jesus Christ. The darkness has truly passed: we live in the light of his New Dawn.

I am truly grateful to God that I did not perish 21 years ago today. But without Christ in my life, why would I be living? For what purpose? Those who do not share my Christian Faith may not understand that point of view, and that's ok. I genuinely respect that. To those that do share a Christian faith we know that Jesus came that we might have life, and life in its fulness.

God's Blessing to you all and Peace!