Imagine yourself on a scuba dive to 120 feet. The conditions are good and the dive site is beautiful. It’s really a great dive. That is until you draw in a tight breath of air! You look at your pressure gauge and see the needle measuring under 100 psi of air remaining in your tank. You quickly realize that you failed to monitor your air supply often and now you’re in immediate need of air.
In a split second you recognize your two options; either you perform an emergency ascent to the surface or you find your buddy with whom you will share air. A quick look around and you realize you failed another rule of diving – keeping your buddy close. Your buddy is 60 feet away, taking pictures of fish. As you assess the options you realize you may become bent on a fast ascent to the surface, or you may even die if you hold your breath on ascent. Your buddy is closer, but what if you don’t make it to him because of the current? And, can he give you his air supply properly without delay?
You start to panic as you draw your last breath. Your lungs are burning with the rise in carbon dioxide and tunnel vision sets in as oxygen levels drop. Your buddy is still far away and does not know you are in such grave trouble. Suddenly, a hand secures you and an alternate air source is put right in front of your face. You breathe in the precious air, feel the reassuring grip of another diver, and safely make an ascent to the surface. A third diver has saved your life.
As it relates to our lives imagine Jesus as that third diver. The deeper we descend into the pleasures of the journey, the greater the risks. When we break the rules through our sin, the consequences are grave. We cannot expect to save ourselves from such desperate situations and ascend to Heaven on our own abilities or works. Nor can we expect to be saved by another man whose very nature is sinful, selfish and unfocused in our salvation. As the Apostle Paul writes in Romans 7:24 “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” The answer is Jesus Christ.
As pastor Tullian Tchividjian reminds us all, “Jesus has come to us to do what we can’t do ourselves. Save us!” The Lord Jesus Christ has come to save you. He can give you life. He is our rescuer, our redeemer. Without Him you will eternally perish. Do you know Him? If not, ask Him into your heart and into your life.
“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.” 1 John 5:20