As his mother wrapped his warm scarf around his neck, Sam dug his hands into his coat pockets to find his mittens.
Merle, his shaggy golden retriever, was all ready to go. He pranced around, slapping his big front paws against the floor as if to say, “Hurry up, Sam!”
The two slipped out the door. The snow came up to Sam’s boot tops. Merle ran and dove and twisted and turned in the deep snow like a happy puppy.
“Wait up, Merle!” Sam called out to his dog. “You go a lot faster than I with your four legs!”
They headed through the backyard and on through a clump of willow trees with their long, hanging branches, then on to the edge of a frozen lake.
Merle found a stick and brought it to his master’s feet.
“You want to play fetch, Merle?” Sam said as he picked up the stick and hurled it onto the lake. It hit the ice and slid.
Merle got to the spot where the stick landed almost before the stick hit. When he tried to stop to pick it up, his feet slid out from underneath him and his husky body slammed against the ice.
Sam heard a “CRACK,” like the snap of a big whip, as a large patch of ice broke up underneath his dog. Merle was plunged into the icy water.
“Merle, Merle, don’t drown, boy!” Sam shouted excitedly.
“Can somebody help us?” Sam yelled as loudly as he could. The nearest row of houses was so far away that Sam didn’t think anyone heard him.
As Sam watched Merle struggle in the icy water, he couldn’t hold back the sobs. He loved Merle, and his dog was in danger of freezing to death or drowning.
Finally, not knowing if any help was coming, Sam bravely decided to go to the edge of the broken ice to try to pull Merle out by himself.
“Merle, I’m coming to get you out!” Sam tried to reassure his dog.
Merle was swimming in circles in the small patch of water. The hole in the ice was round and only about five feet wide. Sam could see Merle’s big eyes looking at him as if he were asking for help.
With every step he took toward his dog, Sam could hear the ice cracking beneath him. He walked slowly and stepped carefully, pausing after every step and holding his breath to see if the ice were breaking. Wishing someone would come outside who could help him, Sam kept checking the houses on the other side of the lake, but the only signs of life were spirals of smoke coming from the chimneys. He wished he and Merle were safely back in their warm house.
When Sam was almost to the edge of the broken ice, scared that the ice was going to break again, he lay down and crawled on his belly the last few feet. He stretched one arm out over the cold water. Merle swam over to it. Sam dug his fingers into his dog’s long hair at the scruff of his neck. Merle’s skin was loose and easy to grab, but his fur was soaked and heavy. Sam got a good grip and pulled. Merle got his two front paws onto the ice as Sam tugged. Merle had just scrambled out of the water onto the ice when ... “CRACK!” The ice broke away beneath them, and both boy and dog were plunged into the icy water!
Sam yelled in fright. He swallowed a mouthful of water and choked. Water was filling his boots and making his feet feel like lead weights. His winter jacket soaked up the water and felt so heavy. All this extra weight was pulling him down under the icy water. He didn’t want to drown, so he fought with all his strength to stay afloat. It was harder than anything he had ever done. He was quickly growing numb in the frigid water and his arms and legs were getting tired. They didn’t want to move; they wanted to give up.
Then Sam felt a nudge at his back. It was Merle pushing him with his nose. Sam turned around in the water and put his arm around his big dog’s neck. The dog was strong enough to keep them both afloat for a while.
Minutes passed that seemed like hours.
Suddenly, a fire engine pulled up to the edge of the lake. A neighbor had called the fire department when he heard Sam’s call for help.
The crew worked quickly. The firemen pulled a long ladder off the side of their bright-red engine. They opened it to its full length and laid it down on the ice. One of them walked carefully on the ladder rungs across the ice to the open water where the two were struggling. He pulled Sam out. His face had turned blue from the cold water. He couldn’t move his fingers. Through lips that would hardly move he kept saying, “Get my dog out; get my dog out,” as the fireman carried him to the fire engine and he was rushed to the hospital.
Later, at the hospital, Sam’s father was able to reassure him that Merle was safe at home, drying out on a warm rug by the heater.
It had been a close call, but both Sam and Merle were safe.
Sam loved Merle and risked his life to save him. Did you know that God loves you? He does, because we read in the Bible, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:1616For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)).
God loves you, no matter who you are and no matter what you have done. Notice this verse doesn’t say, “God so loved the good people of the world,” nor does it say, “the worthy people of the world.” If it did, no one could be sure God loved them. It says, “God so loved the world,” so we can be certain He loves each one of us.
We also learn from this verse that we are in danger of perishing, which means ending up in hell. If you haven’t put your faith in God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to save you, then it cannot be said that you will not perish, because if you die without the Savior you will perish. God doesn’t want anyone to perish. To make a way of escape possible, He sent the Lord Jesus to die on the cross. Now, anyone who believes on Him will not perish, but have everlasting life. Won’t you believe in Him and then tell someone what you have done?
Messages of God’s Love 1/7/2024