Special Treatment

A few months ago, we were on our way home from Nashville and arrived in the airport early enough to see people boarding a flight to Denver. Which was our destination in two hours. So, we asked if we could switch flights if they had room. With the grace and hard work of the airline attendee, we got on board with just seconds to spare. However, it just so happened that the only two seats left were in first class. We sat down in the large seats and felt happy to be able to get to our destination earlier than planned. I felt an uneasiness in the air; we were being stared at for being the last ones to board sitting where the first to board belong, it felt we were out of place, and a stewardess was quick to point that out. We didn’t pay for first-class… but there we were, plane backing away from the terminal. We were wondering why they allowed us on and if they were going to hand us a parachute. After liftoff, I watched the attendant giving the first-class travelers special food, drinks, and constant attention for any comfort need. The coach passengers did not get this attention. Even though anyone can pay more for a ticket and sit here, the message was clear, this area was for the elite. It didn’t seem to matter that it came with a higher priced ticket.

I Don’t Belong Here

I glanced back in the coach seating where we normally sit and felt that is where I belonged. Can this feeling happen in our spiritual journey? Do we look across the aisle and feel like we do not belong?  We have all experienced a sense of not belonging, missing out, being on the outside looking in. Whether it is the first day in a new school, the first day of a new job, or going someplace where you don’t know anyone. Ultimately, I think we can agree, it is no fun. None of us like to be left-out, none of us enjoy being excluded, none of us like feeling we don’t belong.

Equal in God’s Eyes

In Ephesians 2:19 the Apostle Paul tells his listeners, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household.” Those who have come to Christ are no longer strangers, you are not going to be left out. The fear of “not belonging” is diminished with the knowledge that God has given you everything. And now, knowing that you are once and for all included, inside the family; inside the promises; inside the dearly loved prized possession of God’s grace, it frees us from that nagging sensation that we might be left out. It motivates us to give thanks for what is first class in the eyes of God and what is not. Through the eyes of God, we are all equal, we are all on the same flight, same destination, to spend eternal life with our Lord and Savior. Lord, thank you for giving us all first class seats. Help me keep my eyes fixed on my eternal flight plan. Amen.