Her name was Daisy, and she had been missing for a week. The friendly dog was two years old and weighed 45 pounds. She had first been spotted by a traffic helicopter flying over a slate quarry. The brown and white dog was curled up on a small ledge, but she would get up and walk around on the ledge. There was nowhere else she could go.
The traffic copter wondered how the dog could have gotten onto the ledge. Realizing rescuing the dog would be very difficult, he reported the dog to the Humane Society.
Owners of the quarry said it would be too dangerous to lower a person down to rescue the dog because the walls of the quarry were not stable. So they called together the police chief, firefighters and Humane Society officials to try to figure out a way to reach the dog.
Being rescued from any dangerous place is usually difficult. When God looked down from heaven and saw all the lost sinners on earth, He loved them so much He decided on a plan to rescue them from their sins. But it was a very expensive plan. When God talked to His Son Jesus about the plan, He asked, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then Jesus said, “Here am I; send Me” (Isaiah 6:88Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. (Isaiah 6:8)). Jesus was willing to leave heaven and come down to this earth to rescue sinners from their sins. He was willing to pay the cost. Amazing!
Those people who were trying to come up with a plan to rescue Daisy ran into a problem. They first lowered a cage with food inside onto the ledge, hoping the dog would walk inside. Then they would lift the cage out of the quarry with a crane. Daisy checked out the cage but never went inside. That left only one way to save the dog, which was for a rescuer to be lowered down to the ledge from the extended ladder of a fire truck. The owners of the quarry finally decided to allow rescuers to give it a try.
A fireman volunteered to be lowered to the ledge to put a safety harness on the dog. First they gave the fireman one of the owner’s T-shirts. As soon as the dog sniffed that T-shirt, she was right up against the fireman and ready to go home. Then he was able to put a safety harness on her so she could be lifted off the ledge.
Poor Daisy was very thirsty after being lifted to safety. She sank her muzzle into a mud puddle and drank until clean water was brought for her. And then there was the happy reunion with her owner. They never did figure out how she got down on that ledge.
When Jesus came down to live on this earth, He knew God’s plan to save sinners was
going to cost Him His life! But He came willingly because He loved us so much. It meant He was going to be nailed to a cross and suffer God’s punishment against sin. He followed His Father’s plan so sinners could be cleansed from their sins and have a home in heaven.
If you will come to Jesus, telling Him you are a sinner and want to be cleansed from your sins, He will wash you clean from every sin on your record now and any future sins. That’s the reason He came: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:1515This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. (1 Timothy 1:15)).
How great is His love for you that He died for you! He has already paid the great price for your rescue. Will you let Him save you?
ML-09/04/2016