Sixty-two Missions and an Outcast
A World War II pilot told a sad story about a member of his squadron. He called him Captain “Johnson” for sake of anonymity. This man suffered extensive injury from a bad parachute landing when his aircraft was shot down on a bombing mission over Germany. With sixty-two missions to his credit, he only needed three more to go home. However, he refused to fly again. This became a source of great controversy within the squadron where most felt that, “If I have to fly, then he has to fly.” This festered for a while until one day he was gone.
Fifteen years later the squadron had a reunion, and our storyteller relates what happened when a certain member appeared:
Who should walk in but our old friend Captain Johnson. No one spoke to him. Many just turned their backs on him. I felt sorry for him. But while we were risking our necks over Germany and losing good men, he was curled up and whining under a blanket. He flew with us, but not a single man considered him to be one of us.290
I understand the attitude of these airmen who served their country so honorably, and I intend no criticism of them. They earned the right to feel how they felt. I relate this story simply to illustrate the contrast between the value systems of our world and that of God’s kingdom. In this world Captain Johnson flew sixty-two missions, fell apart, and became an outcast. In the world of our Savior, Jesus Christ, he could have done the wrong thing sixty-two times and still have had a way to reclaim his status as “one of us.” Repentance would be required, but forgiveness would be certain.
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
—Matthew 18:21–22