FAITHFUL
ENGINE MOUNTS
Comparing Engine Mounts to Faith
by Dave Wilkerson
Engine mounts rarely excite pilots. At least, not lightplane engine mounts. Certainly, when pilots see those massive forgings that cleave engine to fuselage in military or large airplanes, confidence soars and love blooms. Light airplanes, though, are another matter. Most pilots never see an exposed engine during their entire training, so when such an opportunity does appear, pilots often stare in disbelief at the engine mount. Sometimes they disbelieve until the mechanic points out the engine mount. Lightweight steel tubes about the diameter of one’s thumb angle from the firewall’s upper and lower corners. No forgings here; just welded steel tubes that seem far daintier than those of the cheapest child’s swing set. Not inspirational . . . just functional. Engine mounts. Painted black, unadorned, hidden under the cowling, ignored by those who rely on them the most – engine mounts.
Vital, ultimately essential, engine mounts remain one of aviation’s most faith-like tools. Every pilot has heard mention of engine mounts at least once during his training. Flight students from backgrounds far removed from aircraft absorb the aviation aura with the awe of a new initiate to some exotic and ancient cabal; and engine mounts are but a hidden part of this world. It is exactly the way that a new believer Christian usually sees faith. Faith, like the engine mount, is not easily defined by those unfamiliar with it. Most understand instinctively that it can be abused. Engine mounts transfer the engine’s power to the airframe, so that the airframe can perform its aerodynamic magic to fulfill the pilot’s desire. The mount itself is not the means by which flight controls turn the airplane, or climb or descend, nor even assure a smooth landing. Similarly, faith is a strong player in a life of prayer, but it is not the motive force; the conduit, not the substance.
Faith remains essential to smooth out each jolt that life sometimes delivers. Those moments come to each of us, as Jesus warned would happen when He taught us that in the world we would have tribulation. He went further by instructing us to be of good cheer, because He has overcome the world. When life’s shock and turbulence arrives, our faith allows his factual statement to absorb the world’s blows. Just as a good engine mount absorbs in-flight stresses like turbulence, violent maneuvering, or hard landings. Still, there are limits. We can exceed the tolerance limit to which engine mounts are built. We can make unfounded assumptions regarding spiritual things, and though we have faith, find that disappointment and hurt awaits us.
God is gracious, not gratuitous. Some Christians (your correspondent has been one) have followed others’ advice and “stepped out in faith” then wondered later why whatever we had prayed for did not occur. At times like these, it is good for us examine ourselves, and the object of our prayers. This is no different than a mechanic inspecting the engine mounts following some high stress event. Both inspections are needful, the mechanic’s and the believer’s.
Few airplanes take more punishment than a training airplane, because its pilots are novices, and they are learning from their mistakes. Just like the new Christian. Any mechanic who has served in a flight-training environment can tell stories about engine mounts found bent, cracked, or broken during routine maintenance inspections. Any of these could have been catastrophic, but the engine mount’s intelligent design overcame a pilot’s unintelligent use. Most pastors having served more than a year can relate stories about believers whose faith continually sustains them. And about devastated souls whose trust was in their faith, rather than in their Lord.
Copyright © 2004-2006 Dove Aviation Ministry, Brentwood, CA
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