Can You Fly a Plane?

     The year was 1964. David Harris was waiting nervously for his turn for an interview with the American Airlines. Any applicant would have been nervous, but David was especially so. Over the past few weeks he had been rejected again and again. His job options were running out. Would this be one more disappointment?
    At last he entered the chief pilot's office. After the polite greetings were exchanged, David didn't mince words. "Before we proceed," he told the official before him, "I want you to know that I am black."
    The chief pilot looked steadily back at the man in front of him. With his light skin, it would have been easy for David to pass as white. There was no awkward pause, no stuttering reply. The answer was direct and simple. "This is American Airlines," the chief pilot said, "and we don't care if you're black, white, or chartreuse, we only want to know, can you fly a plane?"
    We come to God confessing our faults. We attempt to explain to Him that we are not perfect. We do our best to make it clear we don't have all the abilities that we see in others.
    But God doesn't care about our abilities. He doesn't care that we are not perfect. He doesn't care about our failings.
    What He does care about is our ability to receive His love. What matters to Him is our willingness to serve. The thing He longs to see is the humble, graceful acceptance of how He has created us. 
    It's so easy to think that our social standing or our ability to do good works will somehow make a difference in God's desire for us. We imagine that we need to be "good enough" before He will stoop low enough to sprinkle His cleansing blood on our souls. We believe He is looking for some semblance of perfection.
    He isn't.
    God doesn't care if we are the most wretched of sinners. He isn't bothered by a lack of cooking skills or an IQ that doesn't seem to measure up. He isn't even deterred if you admit to Him that you cannot fly the proverbial plane. He only wants to know, will you accept His gifts?
    You can lay your doubts and worries at His feet. You can express your inadequacies all you like. It makes Him no difference. God is more interested in your willingness than in your perfection. 
    "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."  (Romans 5:8) There was no waiting around for us to get our act together. He didn't confirm with us first that we were going to be serious about serving Him. No, it was a free gift. He doesn't care if we are white, black, or chartreuse. He wants you. He wants me.
    David Harris became the first commercial airline pilot of African American heritage. It didn't happen on its own. He still had to fill in an application. He still had to show up. He still was courageous enough to mention something he was afraid would get him kicked out.
    It is the same with us. Show up at prayer time. Be completely honest with yourself and with God. Let Him know that you want to accept whatever He has for you. Just as the chief pilot's words of reassurance were surely music to David's ears, the love and forgiveness of God will be music to your heart.
    There, in the service of the Almighty, is a fulfillment more beautiful than you have imagined. And you are wanted. With all your faults, with your quirks, your disappointments, your weaknesses.
    You.
    Just as you are.