A fifteen-year-old boy hiking in the Olympic Mountains ran ahead of his father on a trail that hugged the edge of a steep mountain. The boy lost his footing on the narrow path and fell several hundred feet down a mountainside. When he was found, he had many serious injuries. Because of the rugged and dangerous terrain, Park Rangers decided to request help from a Coast Guard helicopter in order to lift the boy off the mountain.
The rescue of the boy took the helicopter to the limits of what it was designed to do. The expensive machine hovering over the boy at a high altitude had to lower the rescue basket 245 feet by cable. This was necessary so the rotors on the helicopter didn’t hit the mountain or the tall trees which grew on its steep sides. A height of 245 feet is almost the equivalent of a 25-story building. Lowering the cable that distance left only a few more feet attached to the winch on board the helicopter. Thankfully, the boy was hoisted up and carried to safety.
Thank God, when it comes to rescuing sinners, there are no limitations at all to what He can do. This is true because, in the greatest rescue operation ever performed, the Son of God came to this earth and went all the way to Calvary’s cross where He gave His life for sinners. The Maker of the heavens and the earth lowered Himself and became a man so that He could die for His creature’s sin. Although in a past eternity He spoke a word and the world leaped into existence, He let Himself be nailed to a tree. Because the Lord Jesus Christ gave His life at Calvary as a sacrifice, He can save every soul that trusts in Him.
There is absolutely no limitation to what God’s grace can do. There has never been a person that has sinned so terribly that the blood of Jesus couldn’t wash them clean. “The blood of Jesus Christ [God’s] Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:77The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. (John 1:7)).
Even if you have tumbled off the dark mountainside of sin and are more spiritually dead than alive, the grace of God can reach you where you are and make you fit for heaven. Heaven will be populated by persons who were rescued from sin and all its sad depths by the Son of God.
There are no limits to what God can do, but there are limits to what men can do. A man can’t wash away his own sin; he can’t save himself by good works, and he can’t rescue his own soul from the power of sin and death. He needs the help of the Son of God, the Saviour of the world. When the Son of God came into the world, He made God’s goodness, truth and love known in a most wonderful way. “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)). If you come to the Lord Jesus by faith, He will surely make you His child forever; however, if you never come to Christ and continue to live in sin, the Bible says you will “perish.” To “perish” means the exact opposite of everlasting life. It means everlasting punishment and destruction in a place called hell. Those who receive the Lord Jesus will spend eternity enjoying the presence of God, but those who perish will never cease to exist in a place of utter torment where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. God can save the most wretched of sinners, but He can’t save a soul who never comes to Him in faith. Be wise and come to Him at once.
The rescue of the boy took the helicopter to the limits of its capabilities. There are no limits to God’s power to save. Will you believe on the name of God’s Son that you might know His wonderful power to save?