James Currens was a sleepwalker. It was not unusual for him to rouse a little from a sound sleep, reach for his indispensable cane, and wander around a bit at night. It didn’t seem like a big problem in the quiet neighborhood where he lived—that is, not until the night when he walked straight into trouble.
It was a pleasant, peaceful night with little to disturb Currens as he walked. No dogs barked, no car horns blared, no late night loudspeakers roused him as he strolled around. Nothing seemed threatening, until he stumbled and fell—fell down the bank of the pond behind his house.
He fell into water and mud chest deep, and there he stuck. At 77 years of age with very weak legs (one knee had been rebuilt with titanium parts), he was too frail to pull himself out of the muck.
Wide awake now and struggling in the water, he began to realize that he was not alone. A curious alligator approached, and another, and another. Soon he was surrounded by eight or ten gators, each three feet long or more. As they moved closer, he began to poke at them with his cane, but they would merely move away a little and begin another approach.
He knew he needed help and began to yell. At last a neighbor woke up and heard him and called for help. Firemen and sheriff’s deputies soon arrived and could hear his cries, but they could not see him in the dark water. Shining their lights on the water, they could see nothing but alligators.
“I’m over here where your light is,” he cried.
One deputy, James Cooper, ran, jumping a couple of fences, and found Currens in the water. As the others used their lights to scare the alligators back, he waded into the mud, got hold of Currens’ cane, and pulled him to safety.
What a rude awakening! We wonder how many others in the world today are “sleepwalking” their way through life. They see nothing threatening, hear no alarm sounding, and go carelessly on until they fall helpless, hopeless and irredeemable into the pit.
There was a rescue for James Currens. There was one who risked his own life, went into the dark waters, and brought him safely out after he fell in. There is a rescuer for living sleepwalkers too—there is One who not only risked His life but gave it to save souls from falling into the pit of hell. But not even He can or will lift one out after they reach that dreadful destination. Salvation has been provided, but it is for the living. There is no escape if we “neglect so great salvation.”