“Hang on, we’re coming!’ yelled Gil to his friends Mitch and Rick. They were clinging to a rock in the middle of the Nacimiento River with their friend Brian Miller who was unconscious. Mitch, Rick and Brian along with six of their friends were spending their spring vacation from school on a camping trip in the rugged wilderness of the California mountains. The three boys, all members of their high school swimming team, had challenged the strength of the Nacimiento River. The river was running full with its ice-cold spring runoff from the melting snow in the mountains. They had challenged the river... and failed.
Their adventure had started about an hour earlier. Wearing rubber wet suits, the three had used their strong, young muscles to battle upstream, walking and swimming against the current to the base of a waterfall. The challenge was fun and exciting — their strength against the roaring power of the river. From rock to rock they fought, until finally they reached the base of the falls where the river poured down the hillside among giant boulders.
They laughed and relaxed while they rested on a boulder, getting their strength back. They looked forward to the “float trip” back down the river. Before they had started upstream they decided for safety reasons to keep themselves roped together. That way they knew that if one of them got carried away by the current, the other two could stop him.
All went well on the way back until they reached a three-foot wide canyon of rocks which channeled the full force of the river through this narrow opening. Coming upstream they had clambered around this chasm knowing that they could not fight against it.
Deciding to ride the river through the rushing chasm, one after another they dove into the water. They quickly found they had underestimated its strength. Slammed and bashed from rock to rock it was all Rick and Mitch could do to come to the surface in the violent water. Slammed against a rock Rick was able to grab it and hold on. Then he helped Mitch to climb on the rock... but where was Brian?
At first neither boy could see him. Then in the foaming current they saw him, pinned face down against a rock, his head under water. They yanked on the rope connecting them, but it was caught on another rock. They both left the protection of their rock and swam to their friend and tried to lift his head above the water, but the rope held it down.
The three boys had challenged the strength of the river and failed. Now they were in real trouble—trouble that they couldn’t get out of by themselves. They needed help, and they needed it fast!
How many of you have realized that you are also in great danger? “From what?” you ask. The answer is, “From your sins.” The Bible says that you are a sinner. As a sinner you are separated from God, because God hates sin and cannot have any sin in His presence. If you should die while still in your sins, you will spend all eternity in the lake of fire, separated from God. There is no greater danger!
But there is a remedy for your sin. Because God loves you so much, He formed a plan to blot out your sins, and that is by accepting His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour. God in His great love for you saw that you needed to be rescued and sent His Son to save you. The Lord Jesus willingly went to the cross and there was punished for the sins of all who would accept Him as their Saviour — their punishment is canceled. “He that believeth on Him [Jesus Christ] is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:1818He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:18).
Do you want to escape the punishment that your sins deserve? Then come to the Lord Jesus. Confess that you are a sinner and that you need and want to be saved. He will hear you and save you: “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear.” Isaiah 59:11Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: (Isaiah 59:1). “Call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me.” Psalms 50:1515And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. (Psalm 50:15).
The boys’ calls for help were heard by the others in their group who were at a campsite near the river. Running to the river, they were able to pass a knife to the boys on the rock who cut the rope, freeing Brian. Pulling him up on the rock, they were shocked at his condition. Bruised and scratched from being smashed against the rock, Brian lay without a sign of life, his face an awful shade of blue. Was he dead?
It was Mitch who acted first. Although they could not detect a heartbeat or a pulse, they knew what to do. Emergency life-saving procedures were started immediately.
Your heart may still be beating quite strongly, but time is quickly passing. Why not take the necessary step for your eternal salvation right now? You only need to ask the Lord Jesus to save you. He is ready right now, willing and completely able to save anyone who in faith turns to Him and says, “Lord, save me.”
While Doug, one of the nine boys, was sent back to the truck parked a mile away to get help, the others worked on Brian. Taking turns, they gave him artificial breathing and heartbeat aid.
Once every second they used CPR to artificially pump Brian’s heart. Every five seconds they would blow air into his lungs. Every few minutes they would stop and listen, hoping to hear a shallow breath. But each time Brian only lay still.
Thirty minutes passed, but still there was no sign of life... thirty-five... forty.... Was it too late? Had Brian died?
Suddenly Rick cried, “He moved!”
But had he? The others wondered. Checking his pulse they could begin to feel it faintly. “Keep working on him!”
Every few minutes the boys would again check Brian’s pulse. His heartbeat was gradually coming back, getting stronger. But they knew that they had to get him to a hospital soon. Where was Doug? He was their only hope.
It was two more hours before the boys heard the unmistakable helicopter noise. They waved and cheered when they saw the red cross of the ambulance helicopter above them. The lifeline that was lowered was the means of eventually getting Brian to a hospital. He regained consciousness after another 48 hours and eventually fully recovered.
Calvary’s cross, red because of the blood of Jesus Christ, can be your lifeline — the only lifeline that promises everlasting life. It is being offered to you right now, perhaps for the last time. It would have been foolish for Brian not to have been placed in the helicopter that came to rescue him. It would be far more foolish for you to refuse the salvation offered by God’s lifeline — the Lord Jesus Christ.
ML-09/15/1985