The Hunters
After the Battle of Britain, Royal Air Force Spitfires and Hurricanes were usually employed as escorts for 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.
—Romans 3:20–22