30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I
do to be saved?” 31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be
saved—you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him
and to all the others in his house.
Much like this winter a number of years ago, Chicago had
a very nasty winter.
The weight of snow on the roofs of many homes, apartments
and offices exceeded structural recommendations. Bob McGrath had one such
building: his garage. McGrath wasn't too concerned about things until his wife
went into the garage to get some boxes and, shortly afterwards, he heard a
great crash.
A glance out the window revealed the garage roof had
buckled and caved in. McGrath didn't stop for hat or coat. He ran from the
house, grabbed a snow shovel and called out for the neighbors to help. The
sweat on his face froze, as he dug at the snow and pulled the debris from the
wreckage. Eventually, thankfully, he heard his wife's voice and saw her hand.
In moments the crying couple was reunited. Those who were
there say it was a touching moment. In answer to her husband's repeated
question, Mrs. McGrath assured him she was all right, and she was. In fact Mrs.
McGrath had always been all right. That's because she wasn't in the garage when
it collapsed. She had entered the garage through the side door but had come out
through the back. She was in the house and quite comfortable, when the garage
roof went down.
But rather than throwing cold water on her husband's
noble efforts to save her, Mrs. McGrath snuck back into the garage and waited
patiently to be rescued.
The story of the McGraths is a beautiful story of love.
Unfortunately, it is not very similar to the story of our rescue from this
world's forces of darkness. Indeed, there are a number of differences.
The first difference is that we, unlike Mrs. McGrath,
have never been safe and secure. On the contrary, the sins of our hearts and
minds, and the disobedience of our actions had condemned all of us to temporal
and eternal death.
The second difference is that we, unlike Mrs. McGrath,
had no desire to be saved. Many of us much preferred to ignore the Lord and try
and do those good works that would eventually balance out the scales of good
and evil. In a futile and false endeavor, we decided to try and save ourselves.
About the only similarity I can see between the McGraths
and condemned humanity is this: we both had a dedicated rescuer. Mrs. McGrath
had her husband, and we have Jesus Christ. So that we might be rescued from the
death and destruction caused by our disobedience the Lord sent His Son into
this world to take our place.
So that we might be rescued, Jesus lived a perfect life
for us. So that we might be saved, Jesus resisted every temptation for us. So
that we might know death had been transformed from our enemy into a gateway to
eternal life, Jesus rose from the dead.
With single-minded purpose, without a flaw or a failing
in His entire life, Jesus did for us all that we could not do. His success
assures that we have been rescued. This is the assurance Paul held out to the
jailer at Philippi. It is also the same for each of us today.
Dear Lord, we are thankful that You have rescued us
through Your life, death and resurrection. May our lives reflect our
appreciation for You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
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