Allied bombers over Europe. Lt. Johnnie Johnson flew many of these missions in his Spitfire, and by the end of the war was the highest-scoring RAF pilot. He made some interesting observations about his fellow aviators:
It is fascinating to watch the reactions of the various pilots. They fall into two broad categories… the hunters and the hunted. The majority of the pilots, once they have seen their names on the board, walk out to their Spitfires for a pre-flight check and a word or two with their ground crews. They tie on their mae-wests, check their maps, study the weather forecast and have a last-minute chat with their leaders or wingmen. These are the hunters.
The hunted… turned to their escape kits and made quite sure that they were wearing the tunic with the silk maps sewn into a secret hiding-place; that they had at least one oilskin-covered packet of French francs, and two if possible; that they had a compass and a revolver and sometimes specially made clothes to assist their activities once they were shot down.293
Johnnie Johnson obviously put himself in the “hunter” category. He may be implying that he was braver than some of his fellow pilots, or at the very least more optimistic. Maybe he and the other hunters just didn’t have very good imaginations. Whatever the case, I think that we can assume that these pilots were more positive in their actions and more effective in the air.
Focusing on the negative has never been good for pilots or for anyone else. Jesus Christ came into this world to direct our attention in a new and positive direction. He brought the message that we can’t work our way to God by eliminating the negatives in our lives. We will never be good enough on our own. By simply accepting God’s forgiveness through his Son, we take the one positive step necessary to gain a place in his kingdom. We continue this positive focus as we live in the body of Christ and joyfully share the truth of this gospel message.
Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.
July 26
The routine started at 2:30 a.m. The B-17 crewmen stumbled out of bed, dressed in the cold, and plodded through the rain and mud to breakfast. Then they began assembling in the briefing room. Someone yelled, “Attention!” as the commanding officer walked down the center aisle and mounted the stage. Everyone finally came awake as the mission for the day was announced.
Jon Schueler paid close attention to every detail. As navigator for the Bad Check(named in hope that she would always come back) he carried a lot of responsibility on his shoulders. After the pre-mission briefing he and the rest of his crew climbed aboard their aircraft.
As long as the momentum of activity was going, everything would be OK. I felt the excitement, the blood coursing through my veins. I felt the intensity of it. We would start the engines reving and I’d lay out my charts and have everything ready, oxygen mask, parachute. Check all the dials. Computer, pencils, Weems plotter. Milt Conver would be making wisecracks. We could feel the plane being readied, we could feel the vibration of readiness of men moving back and forth at their dials, controls and guns. Everything was OK. We were a team and we knew each other and loved each other. The men were truly noble.294
These feelings are not uncommon in combat. You grow very close to others when you share an important mission and some degree of hardship or danger.
Twenty-five years after having such an experience, I rediscovered the same kind of intense feeling for others in the body of Christ. There is no mission that brings men and women closer together than working to bring others into the family of God. Everyone contributes unique gifts to the task, and every gift is prized by all. The key ingredient that holds this great and noble family together is the love of Jesus Christ for every member, which all the members share freely with each other.
But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
July 27
Early in the war scattered British and Australian forces, often with obsolete equipment, tried to oppose the Japanese advance through East Asia. Many Royal Air Force pilots were still flying biplanes that proved easy prey to the modern Japanese Zero fighters. As comrades failed to return from missions, it became ever harder for the survivors to keep going up. One airman commented on his own feelings and on a fellow pilot’s determination to oppose the enemy invasion of Sumatra:
We were terribly fearful, some of us literally shaking… But the missions had to be flown and it was then that I saw real valour… not just flashes of it but as a part of every member’s daily life. A special bravery seemed to be generated, where fear was greatest… The courage that we saw was in the calm before the storm, of very young men… doing something that petrified them… But they did it because it was their duty.295
I think of Bob’s sheer guts on that day only with deep admiration. He was going on a mission… to find a Japanese sea force, to try to break through its fighter and anti-aircraft screens and bomb it. Scared stiff like everyone who had to make such attacks, he was so overwrought that he actually vomited on the tarmac as he went to climb into his Hudson. But he just vomited, shook his head, climbed aboard and took off.296
Could anything be more difficult than finding courage in a losing cause? These airmen knew that defeat was inevitable, but continued to find the will to do their duty. Many times we, as Christians, are discouraged by far less formidable risks. We think that certain people are hopeless and that any effort on our part to share the gospel would be futile. When we hear moral issues being discussed and sense we’re in the minority, we sometimes feel that our solitary voice will have no effect. At these times, we need the courage of these RAF pilots, who were able to leave the bigger picture in the hands of a higher authority while focusing on their individual responsibilities. Courage is action in the face of possible embarrassment or failure.
I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
