Ruthie was excited! She and her family were going to the beach for the afternoon. It was one of those very hot days when it would be really fun and refreshing to splash and swim in the water down at the lake.
Ruthie was also eager to use her new inflatable raft for the first time. It had been a birthday present, and she couldn’t wait to try it out. As soon as she got to the beach, she begged her daddy and mommy to blow it up for her. When they were finished, she ran right down to the water with it.
Oh, how much fun she had floating around the swimming area! She could splash with her hands, and she could even kick a little with her feet without having to worry about sinking. You see, Ruthie didn’t know how to swim yet, and she was easily frightened whenever she was in water that was up to her chest or deeper.
What Ruthie didn’t realize was that the wind had started blowing while she was floating around on her raft. At first it was a gentle breeze, but the longer it blew, the more it made Ruthie drift farther away from the shore. Eventually the wind took her completely outside of the roped-off swimming area and into the weeds and water lilies that were growing in the water. All of a sudden, Ruthie discovered where she was and how far she was from her friends who had been swimming near her, and she was afraid!
Her friends called out to her, telling her to paddle with her hands. But she didn’t understand what to do, and her attempts to paddle didn’t help her to move anywhere.
One of her friends, who was older and knew how to swim, saw where she was and started to swim to Ruthie to help her get back to safety. However, her friend got tangled in the weeds and gave up trying to rescue her. Then Ruthie started to cry because she was scared!
I had been sitting on the beach, having a good chat with a friend. I was comfortable there and not quite ready to get in the water for a swim. Then I heard Ruthie crying and saw how helpless she was. I quickly jumped in the water, swam out to her, and pushed her and her raft back to safety.
Do you know why I did that? Why did I swim through all those weeds that were constantly getting tangled in my arms and legs? What made me keep on, stroke after stroke, till I reached Ruthie and brought her back to shallower water near the beach?
I am Ruthie’s daddy, and I love her very much. How could I just keep sitting on the beach, while my dear daughter was helplessly stranded out in the water? No, I would do all in my power to save her and calm her fears.
Do you know that this is just what the Lord Jesus has done? He was in heaven, and He saw us down here on earth. He saw that we liked to go our own way and that sometimes we thought we were having fun doing it. But He also saw that we were slowly but surely committing one sin after another, drifting farther and farther away from Him. We became slaves to sin and to Satan, and when we became aware of this awful condition, there was nothing that we could do to get free. We were helpless, and we were heading for the punishment of our sins in hell.
What made the Lord Jesus look down on us with pity and kindness? What made Him leave His home in heaven, where He enjoyed special happiness with His Father, to come down to this world so full of sin and misery? What made Him become a man, so completely like us yet entirely without any sin Himself, that He might die for us? Why did He hang on the cross, endure all the punishment of God against sin and shed His precious blood so that He might offer to you and me a full, free pardon from every sin?
The answer to all these questions is one word - love! “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)). “The Son of God . . . loved me, and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:2020I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)).
By simply trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ and the value of His sufferings and death on the cross, you will be freed from your helpless state of slavery to sin and Satan. Your heart will be cleansed from every stain of sin, for “the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:77But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)). You will have the Lord Jesus as your closest friend forever, and heaven will be your home after you leave this world.
But remember, there is no other way but God’s way. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us” (Titus 3:55Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; (Titus 3:5)). Trust in the Lord Jesus today!
ML-09/23/2001