Christlike Humility

Written by Gene Jordan

It was a very normal day. Jungle rainstorms had not only made navigation a challenge, the airstrips were pure mud. Typical for the Amazon.

It was my fellow MAF pilot’s last flight that day. He was tired and was faced with another normal problem: Three seats available and four passengers wanting to get on the plane.

The pilot was on his knees loading the cargo pod, when one passenger had a bright idea: “If I get in the plane first, I will assure myself a seat.” With the agility gained through many hours on jungle trails, the would-be passenger planted his large, muddy, barefoot right on the pilot’s back and climbed into the airplane!

There is a certain status that comes with being a jungle pilot. The pilot is the contact with the outside world. He brings teachers and government officials. Vaccination teams arrive in his plane. He offloads needed cargo. He sometimes makes very difficult decisions whether to land or not as he evaluates the weather or airstrip conditions. These decisions can literally mean life or death. To jungle communities, the pilot becomes a very important person.

Thinking of yourself as important can be an insidious trap.

Consider Jesus. Jesus is God, but He was also fully man. He chose to empty Himself and become a humble servant, even to the point of death on a cross.

The missionary pilot will be far more effective as a Christlike servant than as a jungle VIP. How he reacts to being used as a convenient footstool may very well determine a community’s acceptance of the gospel. A pilot who responds negatively could turn the community away from Jesus the Servant.

What did the MAF pilot do in this case? I watched him slowly get up, remove his shirt, hold it up so everyone could see the muddy footprint, turn to the man in the airplane, and say, “My, you have a huge foot! It looks more like a canoe than a foot!”

The next time he lands at that community, they will remember him as the pilot who was willing, with a smile, to be stepped on. Jesus would approve!

About the Author: Gene Jordan grew up as a “missionary kid” in Quito, Ecuador. An interest in missionary aviation was sparked by the MAF pilots he knew in Shell, Ecuador, who challenged him to use his life to build the church. In 1977, Gene and his wife, Lynn, became missionaries with MAF, right back in Ecuador.