Airlines depend on repeat business. Flyers have a multitude of choices, and for that reason, it is important to wind down each and every flight on an upbeat note.
It is vital to the success of the airline company to have a good tarmac touchdown. The wheels must be lowered at just the right time, the airplane must be angled correctly, and the smoother the contact with the runway, the more positive each passenger’s memory of the flight will be.
The pilot’s skill will be admired, and the compliments will flow like warm honey. The turbulence at 35,000 feet won’t be forgotten, nor will the baby that cried for two hours. Yet, we will be satisfied.
The ending always flavors the beginning, and a pleasing tarmac touchdown will coat everything else on the flight with pleasing overtones.
Paul was winding down his letter to the believers at Colosse. He hadn’t been able to avoid turbulence, either, for there were issues he’d addressed head on. Yet he understood the importance of a smooth and uneventful tarmac touchdown, that if his letter closed on a smooth and upbeat note, his readers would accept everything else he’d said more graciously.
Paul brings his words to a close in Colossians 4:15-18, with a benediction that kisses the runway softly and winds to a stop with barely a touch of the brakes.
Verse 15 – Paul lowers the wheels.
Lowering the craft’s wheels is vital to landing an airplane. It is a preparatory step, readying the craft for those to come. Without this pivotal step in the landing process, nothing else will be successful.
Paul lowers his wheels by greeting a nearby church, one that might also read his epistle. He mentions Nymphas, who hosts the church in his home, by name.
Verse 16 – He kisses the pavement.
When the wheels touch the tarmac, that contact is felt throughout the entire craft. Reality has met reality, and everyone knows.
The reality is that the letter to the Colossians will be read by other believers. Paul encourages this. He tells the believers at Colosse to share their letter with the Laodiceans, and to also read the epistle from Laodicea.
Verse 17 – He applies the brakes.
An aircraft cannot coast to a stop. If a pilot takes his hands and feet off the controls once contact is made with the ground, expecting the plane to make it safely to the terminal on its own, it will veer off the runway. It will not reach its final destination.
Paul cautions Archippus, a man thought to be the son of Philemon, and perhaps the pastor of the church at Colosse, to take heed to the direction of his ministry. God needed him to reach the terminal, not veer off the runway.
Verse 18 – He thanks his passengers for flying with him.
The final words of a flight are the ones that stay with us. For example: Thank you for flying with Southwest Airlines. We know you can choose any airline for your travels, and we want you to consider Southwest the next time you fly. Enjoy your stay in Atlanta.
Paul thanks his readers for bearing with him, asks them to keep him in mind when they pray, and encourages them to enjoy their walk in the Gospel.
Repeat business. A multitude of choices. A good tarmac touchdown. Paul, a master orator and writer, covered all the bases. Today, we return to his words on a weekly basis. We look past the Qur'an, the Book of Mormon, and the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh. From our multitude of choices, we pick up the Bible, becoming repeat business for Paul’s writings.
It is when we accept the message he brings us that our tarmac touchdown is complete, for the message becomes real in our hearts.
It is our connection with Jesus that makes our lives real, and we find that when we read his Word.
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