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Too
Long, Too Far, Too Low
The
day was April 21, 1918.
It occurred during World War I.
Baron Manfred von Richthofen led his flight of
triplanes to search for British observation aircraft.
An engagement ensued between a flight of Sopwith
Camels led by Canadian Royal Air Force pilot Capt.
Arthur Roy Brown. Brown’s friend Lt. Wilfred May was
a rookie on his first offensive patrol. May had been
ordered to keep out of combat, but couldn’t resist.
He jammed his guns and, defenseless, headed away from
the battle. Richthofen spotted the lone plane and
chose it for kill number 81. Brown observed the scene
below him and dove to help his fellow airman, knowing
that May was no match for Richthofen.
Read
what happens next: “It was then, with Brown closing
from behind, that Richthofen, usually a meticulous and
disciplined fighter pilot, made a mistake and broke
one of his own rules by following May
too long, too far, and too low into enemy
territory. Two miles behind the Allied lines, as Brown
caught up with Richthofen and fired, the chase passed
over the machine-gun nests of Australian Field
Artillery.” The debate continues over who fired the
fatal shot that passed through Richthofen’s torso.
Ultimately it doesn’t matter— whether hit from the
air or the ground.......
The
Red Baron - was mortally wounded.
Richthofen
was good. Probably over-confident. But he “broke one
of his own rules.” Maybe in his mind he was just
stretching the rule a bit. Or he was distracted by
something that appeared too good to be true. Whatever
the case, he compromised his own standards, which led
to his demise. For the Red Baron, the temptation of
number 81 was too much. *
The
temptation always exists for you and for me to focus
on the WRONG things.
It is easy to be distracted by “the number$”
or something else.
Then we find ourselves flying too
long, too far, and too low into enemy territory,
into the bondage of sin, and ultimately to our own
destruction (Romans 6:23; Mat 7:13-14).
The
RIGHT thing to do is to “fix our eyes on Jesus”
(Heb 12:1) and follow Him, for He will lead us to
eternal life in heaven.
He has made this possible by dying
on the cross as payment for our sins (1 John 2:2).
And, when we believe
in Him
(Acts 16:30-31), turn from sin in repentance
(Acts
17:30-31), confess
Him before
men
(Rom 10:9-10), and are baptized
(immersed)
in His name (Acts 2:38), He will forgive us of our
sins and lead us to victory over sin and death.
If we will continue to follow His “rules”
to the best of our ability, He will continue to
forgive our failures (1 John 1:7).
STOP
flying too long, too far, and too low into enemy
territory – only misery and destruction await you
there!
Fix
your eyes on Jesus and receive eternal life through
your trusting obedience.
Won’t
YOU?
--
David
A. Sargent,
Minister
Church
of Christ at Creekwood
1901
Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama 36695
*
From Bible.org: Sermon Illustrations.
See also: “This Day in History: 4/21.”
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=439
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