“In the event that you should need oxygen…”

Storms in the southeast had delayed flights just enough so that David and I just missed our 8:50 pm flight from Atlanta to Greenville/Spartanburg.  Because of this we had been rebooked to 9:00 am on the following day.  It was going to be a long night if we went to our plan C, which was to rent a car and drive back.  Plan B was to fly standby.  David, a biology professor at BJU, talked with the nice lady at the counter in Atlanta and thankfully she was able to get us tickets on the last flight out, which didn’t leave the terminal until about 11:15 pm.  This was still better than driving.  I had a window seat next to the left wing, and it was right by one of the emergency exits.  The flight attendant told us how the door worked and asked the three of us in that row if we were able and willing to use it and to assist others in the event of an emergency.  After agreeing, my mind drifted off to Flight 1549 and how Captain Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger had landed it safely in the Hudson River.  Again I was filled with admiration for his skill, and again I saw the open emergency doors with people climbing out onto the wing, waiting to be rescued.

We were returning from a conference in Grand Rapids, MI.  The lines back in the Gerald R. Ford International Airport hadn’t been bad at all.  After just a few minutes I stuck my cell phone onto the boarding pass scanner and proceeded with the usual drill.  Off came the shoes, and they were joined with my laptop in the gray plastic tray.  I pulled out all the containers of liquids and put them into another tray, and then I added the contents of my pockets.  After shoving both trays, my laptop case, and my carry-on bag into the tunnel I stepped back into position for my personal security scan.

The TSA security officer told me to stand on the yellow footprints on the outside of the scanner and asked me, “Have you emptied your pockets?”  I answered in the affirmative.  “Sir, what is that in your shirt pocket?”  My shirt was dark brown with faint tan stripes—please believe me when I say that it looks much better than it sounds—and sticking out was the end of the receipt from my supper, the white paper shining brightly against the brown background.  Yes, I knew it was there, but I thought it didn’t matter.  After all, I had on a belt with a metal buckle, a metal watch with a metal band, a metal wedding ring, glasses with metal around the lenses with metal embedded in the temples, and to complete the ensemble a healthy dose of titanium metal tubes and screws connecting my L1-L3 lumbar vertebrae.  Surely a little piece of paper could be ignored.  “A receipt,” I replied.  TSA Man was rather loud and insistent:  “Sir, that’s something in your pocket!  Stand up here in the scanner, you can hold it in your hand, and put your hands up here!”  Somewhere in the background my supportive colleague was busting up.  I proceeded to do everything that TSA Man told me to do—exactly as he said to do it.  I began to wonder if I would ever realize my dreams of a career as a TSA security screener.

Next on the agenda were the usual pre-flight safety spiels from the flight attendants.  You know, the ones about wearing seatbelts, not smoking, and how you would get into really big trouble if you vandalized the smoke detector by the toilet.  I made up my mind to not do that.  And then one of the attendants said, “In the event that you should need oxygen during this flight, an air mask will drop down and….”  The chemist immediately thought, “In the event that I should need oxygen?  I always need oxygen.”

Others things that we always need include clean water, food, clothing, and shelter.  We need money to get these, and to get money we need to use our abilities.  Of course, we also need intangibles such as companionship, love, and forgiveness.

·       We look to the material world to satisfy our physical needs.  John tells us of Christ’s role:  “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” (John 1:3, ESV)

·       Paul speaks of all that we have, including our abilities:  “What do you have that you did not receive?” (I Corinthians 4:7, ESV)

·       Our need to understand our significance in the world is satisfied only if we take God at his word:  “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.’” (Genesis 1:27, ESV)

·       We crave purpose in life.  There are many, of course, but two of the highest are to glorify God and worship him:  “Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.’” (Revelation 15:4, ESV)

·       Don’t we need peace in our hearts?  Christ responds:  “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.” (John 14:1, ESV)

·       What about those times when no person can meet your need?  “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” (James 1:17, ESV)

In the event that you should need anything, turn to God.