Focal passage: Romans 5:6-11
God offers us hope and forgiveness through Jesus Christ.
Jessica McClure was just 18 months old when she made national headlines for being helpless. The toddler, coined by the media as “Baby Jessica,” fell down a 22-foot well and became trapped in a tiny space only eight inches wide. Unable to move, Baby Jessica faced imminent death. There was no way she could crawl out of that hole and save herself. It took rescue workers 58 hours to dig a parallel well and lift her safely to the surface.
Just like Baby Jessica, we find ourselves dangling helplessly in the face of disaster. And yet, unlike this little one, we deserve our impending doom. Stuck deep in the well of our own sinfulness, we deserve God’s wrath. What’s more, we are completely and utterly unable to rescue ourselves.
The glorious news of this lesson is that just like Jessica, we have been offered a miraculous rescue! Jessica’s rescue came because people were willing to travel deep into the earth and pull her out. Our salvation comes through Jesus Christ alone.
According to Romans 5:6, “While we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” Taking on human flesh, the Son of God sacrificed His sinless life for us. He selflessly loved people who had completely rejected Him. Jesus didn’t just risk his life, He laid it down willingly on our behalf.
On the cross, Jesus bore our condemnation and we are “saved from the wrath of God through Him” (Romans 5:9). This means that He paid the penalty for our sin, bearing the punishment that should have been ours.
Through Jesus Christ, God offers us hope and forgiveness. Praise the Lord, He does not leave us dangling in our sin. Instead, through His work on our behalf we have the opportunity to be reconciled with God and restored to a right relationship with Him.
Mention Baby Jessica to anyone over 35 and most likely they will be able to tell her story. It truly is amazing. But what about the story of our rescue? When is the last time you recounted that miracle?