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Back in 2007, a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter was called in to rescue a Houston, TX, man from a 60-foot-tall pine tree. William Harrison climbed the tree to rescue his $2000 pet parrot who had escaped from his cage when Harrison's daughter left the cage door open. Once Harrison climbed up to retrieve the parrot, he couldn't get back down. With nightfall approaching and the ground around the tree too wet to support fire apparatus, the Houston Fire Department asked the Coast Guard for help and a helicopter plucked Harrison from the tree. Once he was safely back on the ground, Harrison admitted that he was embarrassed by all the fuss, but claimed that he would do it again, if necessary, to save his parrot.
People will do some risky things to perform a rescue. Strangers will leap into flood waters. Firemen crawl through burning buildings. Police officers and members of the military will brave bullets to save a life. Heroes recognize the risk, but they focus on the need.
We all need rescue. Romans 3:23 (NIV) states the terrible truth: "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..." "All" means every single human living on the planet. "There is no one righteous, not even one," proclaims Romans 3:10. In Romans 6:23, the Apostle Paul details the cost of our sin: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
You can see where this is leading, but, please, humor me for a moment. Before we talk about Jesus coming to our rescue, let the cost of sin really sink in. We deserve death. Our sin separates us from God, and we deserve death. The worst part is, we can do nothing to get ourselves out of that mess. We can't fix it. Even if we could try to make up for our wrongs, how do you know when you've done enough? How many Bible verses do you have to memorize to mitigate the sin of gossip? How many church services must be attended to make up for losing your temper? How many folks do you have to win to Christ to pay for a murder?
The Apostle Paul used Abraham to demonstrate the futility of attempting to save ourselves. Abraham had enough faith to leave his home country and follow God's leading even when he didn't know where the path would end, simply trusting God's promise that he would be given the land and father a nation of people. Abraham generously allowed his nephew, Lot, first choice of the land, instead of insisting on his rights as the older member of the family. And when Lot was captured by enemy tribesman, Abraham risked his life to rescue Lot. Abraham was a good man.
But Abraham was a sinner. Abraham lied about his wife, Sarah, and claimed that she was his sister. (Sarah was his half-sister, but that wasn't the primary nature of their relationship; Abraham intended to deceive.) Abraham grew impatient when God didn't fulfill promises according to Abraham's schedule; Abraham took matters into his own hands and tried to produce an heir through Hagar. Abraham even laughed at God (Genesis 17:17). Good as he was, Abraham still sinned and Abraham deserved to die.
Here's the terrifying truth: No matter how good we are, we can never do anything to make up for what's not good; we are sinners who deserve death. That makes the second part of Romans 6:23 pretty important: "The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Paul says it another way in Ephesians 2:8-9 - "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast." This worked for Abraham. Romans 4:3 tells us that "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."
When humanity was helpless, Jesus rescued us. Jesus took our punishment (death) for us so that we could receive life from Him. Jesus asks us to trust Him on that one.
It's risky to leave that decision in our hands. After William Harrison climbed the tree to rescue his parrot, the parrot bit him. Some folks, determined to control their own lives, will turn away from Jesus. But the wise won't. The wise will trust Jesus.
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