This isn’t a story about Max a rescued Saint Bernard saving a desperate man buried in an avalanche. It’s about people like us who have been snatched from the edge of the cliff of disaster. Do we the rescued become rescuers of others or do we ignore them?
Alexandra Keir was diagnosed with three types of cancer at ages 2, 7, and 14. She wants to become an oncologist and treat others with cancer.1 Matthew Ramirez, MD, was diagnosed with cancer at age 13. He now helps kids overcome cancer.2
Charles Colson spent seven months in a federal prison in Alabama. He converted to Christianity there. After serving his prison sentence, he started Prison Fellowship to help prisoners connect or reconnect with the Christian faith.3
By grace through faith in Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, God rescues us, the ungodly, from judgment (Romans 5:6, 8). The innocent Jesus took our guilty place (1 Peter 3:18).
“For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT).
“And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “‘Come back to God!’” (2 Corinthians 5:18, 20 NLT).
God’s ambassadors are His rescued rescuers. Do we the rescued mind God’s business and become rescuers of others or do we mind our own business and ignore them?
God graciously gave us what we don’t deserve. How thankful are we? Like water displaces air, gratitude should displace our pride and self-importance and motivate us to live for Christ who died for us (2 Corinthians 5:15).
Gratitude-powered rescued rescuers make an eternal difference in others’ lives by pointing them toward the one who rescued them and can rescue anyone who will allow it. They pay their thankfulness for their deliverance forward. That’s how Christianity has always spread.
Jesus commissioned us to make disciples of all people groups (Matthew 28:18–20). It begins by sharing God’s solution to everyone’s biggest problem—sin. That’s what we do. Gratitude for our undeserved rescue from eternal separation from God is why we do it.
Matthew 10:8 NLT lists four ways Jesus’ apostles were to rescue others: “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!” God has uniquely gifted each of us to carry out His rescue mission. Are you a gratitude-powered rescued rescuer who is giving as freely as you have received? #discipleshipresources #evangelismresources #christianleadershipresources
2. Matthew: Fighting Cancer as a Child and as a Doctor | Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (choa.org)
See no-cost spiritual growth resources for Christians at https://www.christiangrowthresources.com
God has equipped and empowered me to write His Power for Your Weakness—260 Steps Toward Spiritual Strength. It’s a free devotional, evangelism, and discipleship resource. Pastors have used it in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia to lead more than 2,400 people to faith in Christ and teach the basics of Christianity to 3,753 people. I invite you to check it out. https://www.christiangrowthresources.com/his-power-for-your-weakness