It was Valentine’s Day, and the second graders were having a lot of fun! There was lots of laughing in the classroom, and the boys and girls were enjoying candy as a special treat. One little girl, 7-year-old Makayla, was chewing on a gummy bear, a favorite candy of many boys and girls. She describes what happened next: “My desk partner made me laugh really hard when I ate a gummy bear, and then I tried to swallow it, and I started choking!”
Makayla was in trouble and she knew it! But as she started to choke and her face turned red, a classmate noticed her grabbing her neck. Eight-year-old Andrew Ramirez knew just what needed to be done. Quickly, he came over to her, and later he told what happened in his own words: “I saw Makayla choking, grabbing her neck and I quickly gave her the Heimlich maneuver.” Up came the gummy bear, which Makayla promptly spit out into the trash can. When Makayla was asked by a newspaper reporter, “Wow! Were you scared?” She answered, “A little bit . . . just a little.”
When Andrew’s father came to pick up Andrew and his five-year-old sister after school, his sister told their father, “Andrew’s a hero! Andrew’s a hero!” But their father just laughed and thought that she was exaggerating. He was soon to find out that it was all true! Andrew’s father, who is a doctor in the local medical center’s emergency room, was amazed that Andrew knew what to do.
“Heimlich maneuver! That’s a big word! Do you even know what the Heimlich maneuver is?” his father asked.
“Yeah, you taught me, Dad,” Andrew answered.
Yes, Heimlich maneuver is a big word. But salvation is an even bigger word! Salvation tells of God’s love towards lost sinners. “There is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Romans 3:1212They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. (Romans 3:12)). Boys and girls and men and women are all sinners before God. Because of this, God says, “The wages of sin is death [hell]” (Romans 6:2323For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)). Because of our sins, we were all headed for hell . . . but . . . “God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:88But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)). “Christ died for us” — that’s you and me – God has made known His love toward us in sending His Son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. This is God’s wonderful plan of salvation! Now, all we have to do is believe it and accept it. “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:99That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (Romans 10:9)).
Though Dr. Ramirez had forgotten that he had taught Andrew the Heimlich maneuver, Andrew did not forget! In fact, he had been practicing the maneuver so that he would know what to do when someone needed help. He explained exactly what to do: “If they’re choking, you get behind them and put your arms around them right about here, and then you just push back hard, like you’re giving them a really big hug.” Then he said, “If she turned blue, she would have to go to the hospital too, and I didn’t want that to happen.”
Makayla, who was very thankful, said, “I was very surprised! This boy helped me!” When asked if he would like to be a doctor, Andrew said, “Yes, I would like to be a doctor very, very much.”
Boys and girls, there are those dying in their sins all around us. If you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior, you have good news to share with your friends and neighbors! Tell them of God’s love for them and how they can be forgiven for their sins through Jesus’ death on the cross. God promises eternal life to all those who put their trust in Him. “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand” (John 10:27-2827My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. (John 10:27‑28)).
ML-09/09/2018