I AM THIRD
By: Elle Buell
Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.
John 13: 34-35 MSG
On June 7, 1958, there was an air show at Wright Patterson Air Force Base featuring the famed Minute Men pilots (Colonel Walt Williams, Captain Bob Cherry, Lieutenant Bob Odle, Captain John Ferrier, and Major Win Coomer). Thousands gathered to watch these men perform incredible maneuvers in huge Sabre jets. Unfortunately, tragedy struck as one of the jets spun out of control, heading straight for the small town of Fairborn. According to The Denver Post, who interviewed several people at the air show, Captain John Ferrier’s Sabre jet was headed directly for the crowd when suddenly the jet pulled up and crashed with a tremendous explosion in a backyard garden, equidistant from four houses. It was one of the only places in the area that he could’ve crashed without killing anyone other than himself.
Only a few weeks later, John Ferrier’s wife was going through his things when she found a card in his wallet that bore three words: I Am Third. John had spoken to his wife many times about this card and explained that it meant God first, others second, and he was third. Just as the card he carried had stated, John Ferrier spared thousands of lives by selflessly giving his own that day.
Jesus told us that we would be recognized as His disciples by the love we have for each other. Today, I challenge you to live out this scripture and this simple phrase by putting others’ needs, feelings, and situations before your own. Let your life openly declare, “I AM THIRD.”
Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.
John 13: 34-35 MSG
On June 7, 1958, there was an air show at Wright Patterson Air Force Base featuring the famed Minute Men pilots (Colonel Walt Williams, Captain Bob Cherry, Lieutenant Bob Odle, Captain John Ferrier, and Major Win Coomer). Thousands gathered to watch these men perform incredible maneuvers in huge Sabre jets. Unfortunately, tragedy struck as one of the jets spun out of control, heading straight for the small town of Fairborn. According to The Denver Post, who interviewed several people at the air show, Captain John Ferrier’s Sabre jet was headed directly for the crowd when suddenly the jet pulled up and crashed with a tremendous explosion in a backyard garden, equidistant from four houses. It was one of the only places in the area that he could’ve crashed without killing anyone other than himself.
Only a few weeks later, John Ferrier’s wife was going through his things when she found a card in his wallet that bore three words: I Am Third. John had spoken to his wife many times about this card and explained that it meant God first, others second, and he was third. Just as the card he carried had stated, John Ferrier spared thousands of lives by selflessly giving his own that day.
Jesus told us that we would be recognized as His disciples by the love we have for each other. Today, I challenge you to live out this scripture and this simple phrase by putting others’ needs, feelings, and situations before your own. Let your life openly declare, “I AM THIRD.”