Will you follow the Greatest Hero?

Luke 10:37 (ESV)

He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

Daniel Mazur, an American guide from Olympia, Washington, was on his way to scaling Mount Everest for the second time when he abandoned his attempt. Mazur, his two clients, and a Sherpa guide were only two hours from the 29,035-foot peak on the morning of May 26, 2006, when they met 50-year-old Lincoln Hall. Hall had been left alone by his team a day earlier when his own guides believed he was dead.

When Mazur and his team encountered him, Hall’s first words were, “I imagine you are surprised to see me here.” Mazur later reported: “I was shocked to see a guy without gloves, hat, oxygen bottles or sleeping bag at sunrise at 23,200 feet, just sitting there.”

Mazur and his team spent four hours maneuvering Hall down the slopes, giving him bottled oxygen, food, and liquids. While they were assisting Hall, two climbers from another country walked past them heading toward the summit. When asked to help, they claimed they did not understand English. Mazur later learned that they were not being truthful. (Compare the priest and the Levite who “passed by on the other side” and refused to help an injured man in Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan. Read Luke 10:25-37.)

Eventually some Sherpas showed up to help get Hall back to the base camp. Mazur and his companions were too exhausted to try to continue their trek to the top of Mount Everest. The team agreed that there was NO CHOICE, and after looking at the summit one more time, they completed their descent....

But Mazur had no regrets. “Oh yeah, it was worth it,” he said. “You can always go back to the summit but you only have ONE LIFE to live.” *

Mazur considered the life of a fellow climber to be more important than his own personal pursuits...

You and I have a lot in common with Lincoln Hall. And with their heroic selflessness, Daniel Mazur and his team modeled the GREATEST HERO of all time: JESUS CHRIST

Because of OUR sin, the Bible describes us as being DEAD (Ephesians 2:1). “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Yet, Jesus, the Son of God, left His "heavenly summit" (Philippians 2:5-8) to come to OUR rescue. This rescue cost Jesus His life, for it was in His death that He paid the price for our sins.

When we were “left for dead,” Jesus came to our rescue. Won’t YOU cling to Him in trusting obedience so that you can be saved?

Dear Lord, help us look for the opportunities around us that we can be a help for. Help our eyes be open today. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.