Who Packed Your Parachute

Charles Plumb was a jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent six years in a Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience.

“One day after Plumb gave a presentation, a fellow came up to him and said, ‘You don’t know me, but I am the person who packed your parachute the day you were shot down.’

“Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, ‘I guess it worked!’

“Plumb assured him, ‘It sure did. If your ‘chute hadn’t worked, I wouldn’t be here today.'”

Being a Parachute Packer
If it weren’t for somebody else—or maybe many “somebodies” –most of us wouldn’t be where we are today either. And if it weren’t for somebody else telling us about Jesus and God’s gift of salvation, forgiveness and eternal life, most of us wouldn’t know God and wouldn’t be bound for Heaven.

May we ever be mindful and thankful to all who have “folded our parachute,” as it were, and may we do the same for others.

And at the same time let us be sure that we are amongst the parachute packers who make a difference in other peoples lives.  We may never get to see the results and never get the thanks and appreciation we deserve. But in the end we get the satisfaction of knowing we did what was right and our efforts made a difference.

You may not have a very prominent role in your church.  You may wonder if you are making any difference to the lives of others.  But God has simply called us to be faithful and not necessarily successful as the world counts success and He will do the rest.

A Nobody Named Kimball
Have you ever heard of Edward Kimball? He was a Sunday School teacher who was concerned about one of his young students who worked at a shoe store in town. One day Kimball visited him at the store, found the student working in the back stocking shelves, and led him to Christ then and there. Dwight L. Moody eventually left the shoe store to become one of the greatest preachers and evangelists of all time. 

D.L. Moody went to England and worked a profound change in the ministry of F.B. Meyer. F.B. Meyer, with his new evangelistic fervour, influenced J. Wilbur Chapman. Chapman helped in the ministry of converted baseball player Billy Sunday, who had a huge impact upon Mordecai Ham. And Mordecai Ham, during an evangelistic campaign in North Carolina, led Billy Graham to Christ.

And we all know the incredible way God has used Billy Graham to reach millions of people worldwide with the gospel. Billy Graham has communicated the gospel to more people than any other person in history. And it all started with a humble Sunday School teacher named Kimball.

You and I are not too likely to ever become a Billy Graham, but every one of us can be a simple witness for Christ. And how wonderful it will be to meet the ones who are in heaven because of your and my witness for Jesus. Only Heaven will reveal who these ones are.