“It could have been me.”
By now I know the drill. The plane usually flies at considerable height over the Baltimore/Washington International Airport while already in a clear descending trajectory. A few minutes later, somewhere along the western edge of Chesapeake Bay, it starts a descending loop as it lines up to the northwest, in search of Runway 33 of the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
On a clear day (or night), you can see, on your right, The Capital Wheel and other buildings on the National Harbor on the Maryland side. If you happen to travel on the left of the aircraft, you can see the Old Town buildings of Alexandria, Virginia, and at the back, over a hill, its massive George Washington Masonic National Memorial. Seconds later, the plane flies extremely low over the waters of the Potomac River as the plane approaches the runway to finally land on the Virginia side.
I know that trajectory very well. I have followed that path dozens of times — several times a year for more than a decade. So when I found out about the tragic accident between an American Airlines plane and an Army Black Hawk helicopter on Jan. 29 that cost the lives of 67 people, I couldn’t help thinking, "It could have been me."
Luck, Or Else
As I write these lines, there are still more questions than answers, but a few things seem to be clear. First, there are no survivors. Second, according to some aviation experts, “We've been lucky that there haven't been more of these [accidents].”
Luck, however, is not the best word of choice for Bible-believing Christians. Everything that happens, we like to think, is under God’s control. “Or at least He has allowed it,” we often say. A financial setback? It’s a trial that God allows so that we can trust Him more, we say. A health challenge? With God, in our weakness, we are strong, we emphasize. An apparently insurmountable roadblock in our professional career? The Lord knows why He closes some doors and eventually will open others, we state with confidence.
Explaining It Away
It is partly why, when such tragedies as American Airlines Flight 5342 strike us to the core, our human reason often goes into overdrive as we try to explain away what we cannot fully comprehend. Often it is also a time for, true as they might be, platitudes. “God must have a purpose for it,” we say. “It was nothing else than God’s will,” we repeat. “If God allowed it, who are we to question Him?” we emphasize.
When walking among us, however, Jesus made clear that this side of Paradise, we can’t always automatically connect cause and effect (see Luke 13:1–5). Some things happen so that the works of God are revealed (see John 9:3). Others are just unexplainable from our limited-by-time-and-space human point of view.
In a week when many in the world were reminded of the unbelievable human toll of the Nazi-fueled Holocaust, as Christians and Seventh-day Adventists we should be reluctant to pontificate on ready-made definitions to explain or justify extreme evil. We just don’t know why God allows some tragedies while He seems to work actively to prevent others. We just don’t know what the guardian angels of the pilots and passengers were doing on Jan. 29 around 9:00 p.m. And that’s the key — we just don’t know. Any attitude or action on the contrary might place us in a realm that simply does not belong to us.
What Can We Do
The lack of a logical explanation for the tragic death of dozens in the cold waters of the Potomac in January 2025 shouldn’t lead us, however, to indifferent disengagement. It’s true that with no survivors, there’s little Adventist Community Services and others always ready to serve in moments of disaster can do. Still, there are things that every church member and follower of Jesus can do in the face of pain, heartbreak and death.
For one, we can pray for the bereaved. There are certainly hundreds of relatives and friends of the deceased that are mourning. Let’s pray, then, for God’s presence and peace, that surpasses all understanding, to be with them today amid their tears.
Second, we should abstain from trying to explain the unexplainable and leave it to God. Let’s be sensible and wise in our social media interactions when discussing the tragedy. Let’s avoid trying to score social, political or even religious points.
Finally, following Jesus’ advice (again, read Luke 13:1–5), let’s focus on our salvation, on our God-given mission and on being ready for heaven. Not one of us will die before the Lord allows it. Meanwhile, let’s devote our time, energy and means to fulfill God’s mission on this earth.
Yes, it could have been me. But it wasn’t. And there’s still so much to do before we sleep or meet Him in the air.
Let’s do it.
Republished with Adventist Review's permission
