Thursday, February 4, 2016

Saving Grace

In June of 2014 my then 8 months pregnant daughter and another seminary wife took their combined 7 children ages 2 to 10 to the Shaw Nature Reserve in St Louis for the day. The first thing they saw was a pond with a walk all around it and numerous docks for the kids to explore and see things in the water. They all went out onto the first dock they came to and the kids had a great time looking down into the water seeing fish, turtles, water beetles, etc.



As they were leaving the first dock Sarah heard a quiet splash and turning around realized they were down to 6 children. She says time stood still as she hurried to the edge of the dock where she thought the sound came from. Looking down she saw her 4 year old Sam's face, looking up at her, his eyes wide with terror, from about 6 inches below the surface of the water. He didn't move or struggle, he just stood there, his feet stuck in the muddy pond bottom. She has no idea how she did it with her pregnant belly or how long it took, but she pulled him out of the water and onto the dock. Amazingly, he self aspirated and seemed fine and wanted to finish out the day with the other kids so they kept going. 



He was a little trooper, wearing wet clothes all day without complaining. Sarah prayed over him, concerned that he might have nightmares about the water.

On the way home, Sam fell asleep in his car seat. When he woke up his big brother, Ben, asked him if he had any dreams. Sam said "yes, but not bad ones. I dreamed Jesus saved me out of the dirty water."


I am struck by how clearly this illustrates the need for each of us. We are all, at some point, stuck in the mud of sin, overwhelmed and drowning in our inability to save ourselves. And Jesus is there ready and willing to pull us up, lift us out of our despair and into his marvelous light. 

Psalm 40: 12-13 For evils have encompassed me beyond number; my iniquities have overtaken me, and I cannot see; they are more than the hairs of my head; my heart fails me. Be pleased O Lord, to deliver me! O Lord, make haste to help me.

Romans 3: 23-25 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. 

Ephesians 2: 8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.