The last flight for the day is a night sector from Stockhom to Lulea, north of the arctic circle. It's a beautiful clear winters evening as the MD80 picks her way carefully along the taxi lights to the active runway.

"Cleared for Takeoff". All checks and procedures are complete and the Captain proffers his final question to the First Officer: “You happy?". The F/O pauses for a moment's reflection, nothing left undone: "I'm happy, if your happy". The Captain has already committed the flight to the Lord... both for safety and for happy relationships with his crew. With a sense of expectation he pushes the thrust levers forward for takeoff thrust. The Pratt and Whitney engines give a shove in the back and they head for the stars. They love it... the romance of flight touching the soul.

It's a great flight. Standard Operating Procedures flowing in pre-determined sequence. Happy conversations with the cockpit and cabin crew. A pleasant meal at 480 knots while slicing through the arctic night (but no wine)! Careful attention to detail in the preparations for landing. Then the final glide down the ILS (instrument landing system). One hundred and eighty passengers relax as the pilot guides their lives with his hands and feet precisely pressuring the aircraft controls. Both pilot’s minds enjoy the moment, using their creative capacity to interpret three dimensional flight well ahead of the aircraft. The wheels grease onto the runway. Touchdown Lulea.

A sense of elation warms the cockpit. After shut down, the aircraft is put to bed and the crew jump into the limo for the run to the city. It's dark. Two blokes and four lovely blonde Scandinavian Flight Attendants. The Captain's wife is thousands of kilometres away...

It's late. The crew are issued their keys at hotel reception and they make their way to the lift. As the Captain slips his key into the hotel room door, he glances left. That gorgeous blonde flight attendant also has her key in the next door down the passage. They make eye contact. There is a pulse in his throat. She smiles invitingly...

His heart races as he slips into his room, closing the door firmly behind. Putting down his flight bag, he slips to his knees beside the bed and says a prayer... "Thank you Lord for strengthening me. I dare not betray you nor the wonderful wife you have given me. Thank you for keeping me safe all the way".

The TV stays off because pornography is only a click away. Instead the Bible is opened. He feels a sense of joy at the privilege of holding in his hands this expression of the thoughts of God preserved down the centuries. The Scripture speaks with power for all that is best in life…

"Another thing you do: You flood the Lord’s altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. You ask, "why?" It is because the Lord is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.

Has not the LORD made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.

"I hate divorce," says the LORD God of Israel , "and I hate a man's covering himself with violence as well as with his garment," says the LORD Almighty. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith" (Malachi 3.'6).

The circumstances connect with the living word: "Thank you Lord that tonight you helped me in being faithful to your ways. Your have preserved me from the snares of this world. Thank you that your word guides me to intimacy with both you and my wife. Praise you Lord”.

Some time later there is a happy arrival back home. One of the best thing about being a Christian now occurs... the Captain looks his wife in the eye with a clear conscience. The blessing of purity is the anointing of God upon their marriage. The pleasure of Godly intimacy is preserved through happy obedience empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Your Vocation is your Mission