Spike lay on a pile of blankets and looked as if he were nearly dead. The poor dog’s legs quivered and jerked in pain, and his fur was falling out. Until now he had been a beautiful husky, but he had worn himself out working with the men in the first Antarctic expedition led by Admiral Richard E. Byrd.
The expedition had landed in the strange, cold land of the South Pole a few months earlier. They had 1,500 tons of gear that all had to be hauled by dogsled from the ships to their camp they named Little America. The trail to the camp was miles long and rough. Spike had splashed through icy waters and stood dripping wet for hours in below zero winds. He had pulled heavy sleds through deep snowdrifts. Being a very strong dog, he always pulled more than double what any other dog pulled. Now he was worn out and sick.
It was after the expedition was settled in camp that Spike fell sick, and he lay sick for many months. The men in the expedition loved Spike. He was not only their best sled dog; he was also very smart. Some of the men came to see him every day, patting his beautiful head. He always raised his head whenever he heard a step near him, but he never whimpered as he looked at the men with his gentle eyes.
Winter with its long, dreary months of complete darkness had settled over the South Pole. When at last some daylight returned, it was time for Admiral Byrd to make his airplane flight to the South Pole, about 1800 miles from Little America. Six men with dog teams were to go ahead of the plane, in order to report back on weather conditions and be ready to help if the plane were forced down. The six men with their dog teams carried with them all the food and gear they would need for three months. Even though he was their best sled dog, Spike still was not able for this grueling trip and had to be left behind in Little America.
It was a terribly difficult trip, but finally the six men with their dog teams reached the goal, a large mountain far to the south. They watched as the plane flew to the Pole and then headed back to Little America. Then the six men were faced with the grueling trip back to Little America.
But the six men and their dog teams ran into serious trouble. After all the days in the harness, the dogs became too exhausted to finish the difficult trip back. The men helped as much as they could. They even tried to help pull the loads, but it wasn’t enough. To make matters worse, storms forced them to delay traveling. Meanwhile, their food supplies were used up alarmingly fast.
About fifty miles from Little America, things really became desperate. The six men sadly decided they would have to shoot some of their beloved dogs in order to feed the rest of the weakened dogs.
This story should be a reminder of how all of us are weak sinners. We may wish we could “do better” in order to deserve a place in heaven, but no matter what we do or how hard we try, we keep failing. We need help outside of ourselves, just as those doomed dogs did.
Fifty miles away, Spike had recovered enough that he was let out of camp at Little America one day. Somehow he must have sensed that he had missed out on a trip. As soon as he was let out, he streaked away across the ice pack, as sure of the trail as if it had just been made.
As the six weary, discouraged men sat in their frigid tent that awful day, they were sadly thinking they would have to kill some of their dogs when they heard an excited noise outside! Suddenly, Spike ran into the tent, leaping on them with joy. He still wasn’t fully recovered, but he had the strength needed to save his fellow dogs and encourage the men.
The men threw away all they could possibly do without, leaving only one sled load. They harnessed all the dogs to that one remaining sled, with Spike in the lead, and headed off. The weary dogs found courage and strength to go on, as Spike pulled and whined at them, driving forward without giving up. At last his grit and energy seemed to pass to the rest of the dogs, and they pulled with all the strength they had left on that last fifty-mile run. They made it to Little America in three days.
We may be amazed at the love, loyalty and devotion of a dog. But this is just a very small picture of the great work and love of the Saviour of the world, our Lord Jesus Christ. He did something for us that we could never do for ourselves. “When we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6). You and I don’t have the strength to earn our way to heaven, but the Lord Jesus has already opened the way for us by His death on the cross. He came all the way from heaven to take our load of sins upon Himself, bearing the penalty for sin while hanging on Calvary’s cross. He died there and then three days later rose again from the grave. Now He lives to take us safely all the way home to heaven.
Have you received His offer of free salvation? “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” (John 1:12). We don’t have to struggle hopelessly to be good; we only have to accept that we can’t do it by ourselves and believe on Jesus who loves us and died to save us. Will you come to Him right now with your lifetime of sins and let Him save you?
MEMORY VERSE: “When we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” Romans 5:6
ML-03/01/2009