Have You Been Rescued
If you were to look at the map of Namibia, you will notice that the Coast above Walvis Bay and Swakopmund, is known as the Skeleton Coast. On our visit to Namibia, we tried to get there, but the Namib Desert blocks all car access. It is called the Skeleton Coast, because dozens of wrecked ships dot the coastline, and all that is left are the skeletons of these once beautiful ships.
The Coast is known for its treacherous currents and hidden rocks, and even if sailors were able to reach the shore after being ship-wrecked, they would certainly die of hunger and thirst, as the Namib Desert comes right down to the shoreline, making it virtually impossible to get help. Nowhere do you see Coast Guard Stations, where men are ready to take to boats and go out and rescue the stricken sailors.
In the US, the North Carolina Coast has a similar name - it is called the "Graveyard of the Atlantic". Hundreds of ships have gone down there, victims of that Cape's violent storms and its treacherous shoals. But there is a difference to the Skeleton Coast. Many who would have been buried in that "graveyard" made it out alive.
These people survived, because of those manning the Coast Guard Station. They call them the "life savers". They risk their lives again and again, heading into deadly storms in their little boats, to do whatever it takes to save the people on a sinking ship. You might be surprised by their motto: "You have to go out. You don't have to come back."
These men, as with our own Life Saving Guards in Australia, show us the meaning of what it is to give oneself to the cause of rescuing others. And they clearly show to us what was the mission of Jesus in coming to this earth. And what was that mission? - "to seek and to save those who were lost" (Luke 19:10).
He carried out that rescue mission at the cost of His own life. He was only too willing to "go out", and by God's power He came back the third day. Having paid the penalty for our sin, His resurrection proved once and for all that sin and death have been conquered. And so all who put their trust in Jesus, are "rescued" for now, and for all eternity.
But here's something even more surprising - something which affects you and me. We read in John 20:20, that we are to be members of God's rescue team also. Jesus says, "As the Father has sent Me, so I am sending you." So, if you belong to Jesus, He is sending you into the surf and the storm to do what He did: to risk whatever you must, to save a life. "You have to go out. You don't have to come back."
The Life Savers and the Coastal Guard people spend hours and hours in perfecting their rescue techniques. They are ready at a moment's notice to risk all in saving those in danger of drowning. But you know, never once in their history of saving lives, did anyone ever knock on the door and say, "I'm drowning. Could you please come and save me?"
No, in every case, the rescuers had to leave the comfort of their life-saving station and go where the dying people were. Just like Jesus. He left the greatest Comfort Zone in the universe (being with His Father in heaven) to come to our "graveyard" - to this sinful earth - to die.
So how can I, for whom He sacrificed so much, let my comfort and my fears decide what I will do? He has commanded me in Proverbs 24, to "rescue those who are being led away to death" (Proverbs 24:11). The problem is, we like to be "secret" Christians. We give in so easily to Satan's lie - religion and politics are private affairs. You know what? Both are NOT! We won't go into why politics are not a private affair, but we will certainly turn to God's Word to see why "religion" - why your Christian faith - must NOT be a private affair.
First, Paul reminds us: "if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us..." (2 Timothy 2:12) In other words, we are to speak out, to tell the world about our love for Jesus and what He has done for us. It is not a personal affair, but a public affair. Secondly, Jesus has told us: "...go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:19-20) Again, a public affair!
And how much longer can we, as His people, just keep waiting for the dying people to come to us? They don’t. We have to take the life-saving Gospel of Jesus outside the walls of the life-saving station; to the street, to the office, to the plant, to the campus, the neighborhood our service club, the nursing home, the jail, the gym. How can we be content any longer to sit inside our stained glass cocoon while just outside so many are dying in the storm?
But what if you have no desire to tell others about Christ? Is it because you have nothing to tell? Unlike the Skeleton Coast, there is a Life Saving Station - Jesus! Hear Christ's call to you today to be your Saviour. There are enough skeletons of ship-wrecked souls on the way to Hell. Follow and love Jesus today, and then go and tell others! Grace and peace......