Of all the dangers a lifeguard must face in carrying out a rescue, the greatest is the very person they are trying to save. Drowning people fight to live. They even fight the person who is trying to rescue them. If you are in trouble while in the water and a lifeguard arrives on the scene, the best thing you can do is stop fighting and let them do what they came to do – save your life!
We like to think we are fighters. We tell ourselves we can do anything as long as we never give up. In many areas of life, that is very true. In a few, like that of being rescued by a lifeguard, it is not.
William Ernest Henley wrote the poem “Invictus” in which he celebrated the indomitable human spirit. Even in death, Henley penned, his head would remain unbowed. He would not give up.
It is a bold, inspiring sentiment, but tragically it is not true. Regardless of how much grit and determination a person has, they will bow their head in death, never to raise it again.
There are some things, no matter how hard we try, we are simply not going to change. The most notable being death. But there are also the inconvenient problems of injustice, conflict, unhappiness, disease and evil. It is neither weak nor cowardly to say that certain battles in life will be at some point, unwinnable.
Christians talk a lot about grace. We call it “getting what you don’t deserve”. Many non-Christian people call grace a crutch for folks who don’t want to fight anymore. Christians, on the other hand, say, “Look, you can’t do anything to keep yourself from dying. You have no clue of what is going to happen when you die and no ability to affect the outcome. So why not stop fighting and let God do what he does best – give us what we don’t deserve.
This weekend we’re
going to talk about grace. It’s the ultimate answer when a person comes to the realization
that there are situations in which the best thing we can do is stop fighting
and let God do the saving.
Worship service times: Saturday: 6:00 pm, Sunday: 10:00 am.
