Charles Rainey had just run the less-than-a-mile distance to his local gym to work out. At the same time, Megan Crawley decided to go to the same gym for her morning’s exercise. And it just so happened that Ryan Ruff, Megan’s fellow nursing student, was working at the front desk. Little did the three know it, but their lives were just about to cross in an unforgettable moment of time.
Charles, 67, had just walked in the door when he collapsed onto the floor and stopped breathing. He had suffered a cardiac arrest! At the same time, Megan walked in the door to hear frantic yells for help. She immediately ran over to help and found that not only had Mr. Rainey stopped breathing, but he was already turning blue and had no pulse. She quickly began CPR while her nursing classmate charged up an automated external defibrillator.
After dozens of chest compressions and one defibrillator shock, Mr. Rainey “came back to life!” By the time medics got there, he was alert and talking. He was taken to the local hospital where they ended up installing three stents. What an experience for two first-year nursing students!
The Bible tells us that we were all “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:11And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; (Ephesians 2:1)). This is our standing before a holy God. A dead person is powerless to save themselves; they need help just like Mr. Rainey did! Because God loves us, He took pity on us and sent His beloved Son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. When we repent of our sins, and accept God’s gift of salvation through the shed blood of Jesus on the cross, we have forgiveness and eternal life. “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)). Think of it! If there was any way that we could possibly save ourselves, why did Jesus have to die on the cross?
When there is true repentance before God and faith towards the Lord Jesus Christ, the Bible says, “You hath He quickened [made alive]” (Ephesians 2:11And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; (Ephesians 2:1)). Now God sees us as no longer dead in our sins towards Him but alive with a new nature that wants to love, live and serve Him in everything we do and say. Are you dead or alive before God today?