I'll Fly Away!

On a recent trip to the Adirondack Mountains, I encountered a small group of musicians playing banjos and guitars. They had great harmony; it seemed like they had played together forever.

As they strummed a plethora of songs they played one from my childhood: “I’ll Fly Away.” The words go something like this:

Some glad morning when this life is o'er, I'll fly away; 
To a home on God's celestial shore, I'll fly away (I'll fly away). 

Chorus 
I'll fly away, fly away, Oh Glory, I'll fly away; (in the morning) 
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by, I'll fly away (I'll fly away).

As I listened to the fellas play, I thought about them and the ends of their lives. Did they truly believe they were going to spend an eternity in heaven with God or were they just playing a rhythmic song? Later, I saw one of them drinking and heard him swearing. I wondered about their salvation again.

We surely do not know the spiritual conditions of people around us and whether they will go to glory rejoicing or to hell regretting. Our job is to tell them and be a witness to God’s life-transforming salvation. The encounters we have on a daily basis are opportunities God places in front of us to give out the gospel. Are we concerned enough to tell others and concerned about their spiritual conditions?

Only God knows the hearts of the musicians I saw, but if He put them on my mind I should be concerned, too. May that be a lesson to me. Next time, I’ll be concerned if they can fly or not!