[Peter said], "You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know — this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power."
Acts 2:22-24
In the movie Apollo 13, one scene has always struck me as really dramatic. The scene where the crew needs to make a course correction to re-enter the earth's atmosphere. If they come too low, they will bounce off the earth's atmosphere and back into space. If they come too steep, they may burn up. The ship's course corrections are done using a guidance platform, but the ship is already damaged and the crew can't afford to use up their remaining power by turning on the guidance computer. Instead, Tom Hanks' character guides the course correction manually by keeping a view of earth centered through his window and keeping proper altitude. After a tense 39 seconds, the maneuver succeeds and the crew is saved.
Conversion is all about course correction. If we make half-hearted or timid changes, we bounce in an unintended direction. But if we make changes that are too drastic, we may crash and burn. With patience and good counsel, though, we can make a successful course correction and re-enter life at the proper angle. Like the Apollo 13 crew, we need to "maintain altitude" by keeping our eye on one fixed point – the mind of Jesus Christ, because through him all things are possible.
Patty Coleman
