The man who went to heaven

The recent plane crash into the Hudson river in New York, where all the passengers were miraculously saved, reminded me of a similar incident that completely changed how I saw God and religion.

Years ago, around the same time of year-- in the winter, I think closer to Christmas-- another plane crashed into the river just after take-off. Unlike this incident, people were killed, and some drowned in the river because the plane sank. However, something miraculous happened at that crash also, caught on live TV for everyone to see!

There was a group of people in the freezing water, I don't remember how many, perhaps ten, that were slowly being rescued by a helicopter. The helicopter would fly over the river, hover overhead, lower a safety-line, and then as soon as someone was tied into the harness, would fly over to the riverbank and drop them off. Then it would fly back to try and save another.

The danger was that many did not have life vests, and were simply treading water. The threat of the severe cold, and drowning was very real. We could all tell that it was just a matter of time before someone would be too cold to hold on, or would simply sink below the icy water and drown. It was the highest form of drama that was unfolding before our eyes. We were witnessing a life and death situation on live TV, and no one knew what the end result would be!

There was one man who seemed to be the natural leader of this small group of people splashing around in the water. He would yell instructions and encouragement to the group, and he would help each person into the harness when the safety line was dropped from the helicopter. One by one we witnessed this man help the people in his group be pulled to safety.

Each time one was saved, the tension seemed to grow. We were literally on the edge of our seats: would they be able to save them all? We could see that they were all struggling to stay afloat, struggling to breath in the choppy water, struggling just to keep alive! But each time the helicopter returned, this same man would pull one of the group into position, help get the safety line around them, and then shout encouragement to the rest of the group as one more flew away to safety on the shore.

Then there were just two men left. We could see they were arguing about who should go next, but as before, when the helicopter came, the same man aided his companion into the harness and watched him be pulled to safety.

Now the tension increased beyond what we could stand! Would the last man be saved? Would the man who had sacrificed himself for the sake of all the others be saved? When the helicopter returned for the last man, to our astonishment and dismay, he could not be found... his efforts to save the others had sapped his strength, and he had slipped beneath the waters of the river and drowned!

To this day no one knows this man's name, or who he was-- there were many who were killed in the crash, and he simply became one of the victims. But both Terri and I came away from the incident knowing one thing: that this man would go to Heaven!

Before witnessing this event I had always had a very narrow view of God and of religion. I had believed that a person had to learn and follow a specific line of doctrine or set of beliefs in order to merit going to Heaven. But this event changed that narrow view forever. For some reason I knew deep in my soul, in a strange and powerful way, that the actions of this man had earned him a place in the highest kingdom of heaven!

I did not know who the man was, or what he believed, or what sins he might have committed in his life; yet I was sure of one thing: his actions on that day, in sacrificing his own life to save the lives of others, was proof of the type of person he was, and that he would be welcomed with open arms into our Father's kingdom.

Perhaps he had been that way already, and this test simply proved to everyone else what God already knew. Perhaps he was a man with many weaknesses, who, when the final test came, was able to overcome his hesitation and make the ultimate sacrifice. Whatever his life may have been before this day, I am convinced that God will reward him with the highest blessings in the next life.

Because the knowledge that this man would go to heaven came so powerfully to me, it changed how I looked at all people, and at God and religion as a whole.

God wants His children on earth to return and live with Him in heaven. He wants people to become righteous. He wants people to repent and to change their lives so that they will be prepared to live with Him again someday.

Religion is simply one of the many tools God uses to bring men the truth. Some religions have more truth than others, but all religions have some truth in them. The test we all must pass in this life is to seek out the truth and then to live it.

Although it is important to know the truth, it is even more important to live the truth. Faith without works is dead. What good is it to know right from wrong if one always chooses to do what is wrong? And what difference does it make how much truth one has (or what religion one belongs to) if you do not live the according to the truth you know and understand?

On the other hand, does it make a difference what you believe, if, down deep in your soul, you know what the truth is and act upon it? As Paul said:

"For not the hearers of the law [are] just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness." (Romans 2:14-15)

This is how I felt about the man in the plane crash. It didn't matter whether he was Jew or Gentile, Christian or heathen: he did by nature what God wanted him to do. His conscience told him, led him, to sacrifice himself to save all of those people.

Whether he did this because he was a good Christian and knew it was the right thing to do, or whether he was a heathen and simply followed his conscience, the end result was the same: he made the sacrifice, and would be rewarded by being saved in the kingdom of God because of his actions that day.

Because of this man's actions, I began to look at people differently. I was not so quick to judge them because of outward appearance, or what religion they belonged to, or even the lifestyle they may be leading at the time. All of us have ups and downs. All of us have sinned at times, and done good at other times. But the real question is: who are we really? Deep down inside, are we ready and willing to make the sacrifices that will prepare us to live with God?

On that winter day in an icy river, an unknown man showed all the world who he really was; and changed forever how I look at this world and the people in it!