Lt. Heather “Lucky” Penney

On the morning of September 11, 2001, Lt. Heather “Lucky” Penney was one of the first combat pilots sent up to protect our airspace. The fourth hijacked airliner appeared to be on its way to a target in Washington, D.C., and Penney was ordered to bring down United Airlines Flight 93. She took off from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland in an F-16, intent on preventing the terrorists from using the stolen passenger plane as a weapon against U.S. civilians on the ground.

However, there was a problem—Penney’s plane had no weapons. In that innocent age, there didn’t seem to be a need to keep combat planes armed at all times, and there was no time to equip it for battle now. The plan was to ram the hijacked plane with her fighter jet. She said, “I would essentially be a kamikaze pilot.” She was being sent on a suicide mission.

Fortunately for Lt. Penney, the sacrifice she was willing to make proved unnecessary. The passengers of Flight 93 wrested control of the plane away from the hijackers, and it crashed in rural Pennsylvania. The heroes aboard that flight did what Penney had been ready to do—make the ultimate sacrifice.

Jesus came into this world knowing full well that he would have to sacrifice his life for ours. There was no other way. No one else could atone for our sins except the sinless Son of God.

“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”—John 15:13.