Riding down the highway in my truck this week, the song “Fly Over States” came on the radio. The song is by Jason Aldean and although I had listened to the song before, it was little more than background noise. Mixed in with the usual noise of kids playing in the backseat, I had never listened to the words of the song. But as I listened to the song in the quietness of my pickup I was struck by the depth of meaning captured in the observation of the song writer.
The song begins with two men flying from New York to Los Angeles. As they pass over the endless cornfields and farmlands of mid-America one of the men asks the question, “Who would want to live there?” Obviously small town life might appear bland to someone accustomed to the busyness and excitement of high society in the metropolis.
But the response of the song writer is simple: Have you ever been there? Have you met the people who live there? Have you ever considered the people who live in these small towns and how their work contributes to your own welfare, or —even more important — considered just how much they are like you?
These are good questions to ask, but not primarily for the reasons we might first think. It is true that we need to sense a unity amongst our fellow citizens as a nation. And it is even more true that we need to learn to value all people, not because of where they live and their status in this life but because they — like us — were created in the image of God.
All men, women, and children have an intrinsic worth instilled in them by their Creator: the Lord Jesus Christ. They have a value given to them by God that no man, no education and no economy can take from them. And this is the primary reason faithful pastors are called to these small towns, as well as big cities. And this is the primary the church goes to the ends of the earth on mission trips Not because we do not have enough poor and hungry people in our own country, we do. It is because we have the gospel of Jesus Christ and they do not. We have heard the story of grace, and they have not. Not yet.
These are real people we are talking about. In real towns, with real families and real children, who will die and spend an eternity in hell if they do not hear the gospel and believe. These are people just like us; small town, big city or foreign country. So, have you considered them? Or are they simply fly over states in your mind? Going there, looking in the eyes of these people, and watching them live might just change your mind.
Love in Christ,
Pastor Mitch
The song begins with two men flying from New York to Los Angeles. As they pass over the endless cornfields and farmlands of mid-America one of the men asks the question, “Who would want to live there?” Obviously small town life might appear bland to someone accustomed to the busyness and excitement of high society in the metropolis.
But the response of the song writer is simple: Have you ever been there? Have you met the people who live there? Have you ever considered the people who live in these small towns and how their work contributes to your own welfare, or —even more important — considered just how much they are like you?
These are good questions to ask, but not primarily for the reasons we might first think. It is true that we need to sense a unity amongst our fellow citizens as a nation. And it is even more true that we need to learn to value all people, not because of where they live and their status in this life but because they — like us — were created in the image of God.
All men, women, and children have an intrinsic worth instilled in them by their Creator: the Lord Jesus Christ. They have a value given to them by God that no man, no education and no economy can take from them. And this is the primary reason faithful pastors are called to these small towns, as well as big cities. And this is the primary the church goes to the ends of the earth on mission trips Not because we do not have enough poor and hungry people in our own country, we do. It is because we have the gospel of Jesus Christ and they do not. We have heard the story of grace, and they have not. Not yet.
These are real people we are talking about. In real towns, with real families and real children, who will die and spend an eternity in hell if they do not hear the gospel and believe. These are people just like us; small town, big city or foreign country. So, have you considered them? Or are they simply fly over states in your mind? Going there, looking in the eyes of these people, and watching them live might just change your mind.
Love in Christ,
Pastor Mitch
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