The story of Apollo 13 has fascinated me since I saw the hugely successful Tom Hanks movie depicting the heroics of Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise. The story is gripping. An explosion during a routine procedure put the lives of the three astronauts in great peril. They didn’t know if they could make it home.
While Apollo 13 was certainly a dangerous situation, probably the most dangerous situation any of these men had ever been in, it was not the first time mechanical failure jeopardized Jim Lovell’s life. In 1954, Lovell was a Navy combat pilot stationed off the coast of Japan. During a routine nighttime mission, his navigation system failed. Darkness enveloped him and he was flying blind no one to figure out what direction he was going. In the darkness, a light appeared from the sea below. He started to follow the glowing green lights like a trail of crumbs. After a few minutes, he noticed the green light was getting brighter. At that point, he remembered that bioluminescent algae in that part of the Pacific lit up when it was disturbed. Something big was disturbing the algae and Jim had a guess it was his aircraft carrier. The light of the algae provided him enough light to find his way safely home.
In Psalm 36:9, David wrote, “For the fountain of life is with You; In Your light we see light.” The combination of life and light may have been behind John’s thinking when he wrote of Jesus Christ, “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of mankind. And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not grasp it” (John 1:4-5).
This teaches us a few things:
While Apollo 13 was certainly a dangerous situation, probably the most dangerous situation any of these men had ever been in, it was not the first time mechanical failure jeopardized Jim Lovell’s life. In 1954, Lovell was a Navy combat pilot stationed off the coast of Japan. During a routine nighttime mission, his navigation system failed. Darkness enveloped him and he was flying blind no one to figure out what direction he was going. In the darkness, a light appeared from the sea below. He started to follow the glowing green lights like a trail of crumbs. After a few minutes, he noticed the green light was getting brighter. At that point, he remembered that bioluminescent algae in that part of the Pacific lit up when it was disturbed. Something big was disturbing the algae and Jim had a guess it was his aircraft carrier. The light of the algae provided him enough light to find his way safely home.
In Psalm 36:9, David wrote, “For the fountain of life is with You; In Your light we see light.” The combination of life and light may have been behind John’s thinking when he wrote of Jesus Christ, “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of mankind. And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not grasp it” (John 1:4-5).
This teaches us a few things:
- We were once lost in darkness but have now entered God’s marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9).
- When the darkness threatens to surround us again, look to the light the darkness cannot overcome. Rush to be in the light that you may see your salvation is near.
- Light brings hope. One of the rallying cries of the Reformation was Post Tenebras Lux, “after darkness light.” You may be experiencing, like Jim Lovell, that you are drifting directionless in the darkness with no ability to get yourself home. God has a way of sending light for his people to follow when all other lights have gone out. Look for the light of hope and it will be found by the giver of Light and Hope.
Posted in Bible Reading 2024
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