Monday, November 1, 2004
Anne had ridden her mountain bike through a California wilderness park many times before. But the ride this day would change her life. She was attacked by a mountain lion that hours earlier had killed another biker. As the cat held her in his jaws by the back of her neck, all she could do was pray. Humanly speaking, her friend Debi was her only hope. Debi jumped off her bike, grabbed onto Anne's leg, screaming for help and kicking at the mountain lion. She fought so hard for her friend she actually pulled Anne and the cat into the nearby brush. Thankfully, Debi's screams brought the help of some men who had been biking with them. Debi continued to hang on as the men pelted that lion with rocks. Suddenly the animal released his victim, and Anne's life was saved. Debi gave everything she had to keep the promise she made to her friend in the middle of that struggle: "I'll never let go of you!"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Lives You Won't Let Go."
There are people you know whose lives depend on you being a friend like that - a friend who loves them enough to fight the lion for them - whatever it takes. In the Bible, God calls the devil "a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour" ( 1 Peter 5:8). The lion's ultimate goal is to take people you work with, people you go to school with, people in your personal world, to hell with him. If he can just keep them from ever putting their trust in the Savior who died to save them. If he can just keep them from ever really understanding what Jesus did for them. If he can just keep you from telling them. Humanly speaking, their only hope may be someone who will fight for their life, and since you know Jesus and you know them, that someone is probably you.
The command of Proverbs 24:11 is our very important word for today from the Word of God. "Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, 'But we knew nothing about this,' does not he who weighs the heart perceive it ... Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?" The Bible makes it plain: "He that does not have the Son of God does not have life" ( 1 John 5:12). You know some folks who don't have the Son of God in their heart. Which means no real life here, no eternal life when they die.
Don't just let the lion have them right before your eyes. Fight for them! As Jude 24 commands, "Snatch others from the fire and save them." Put the name of someone you know in that verse, someone you want to have in heaven with you who probably isn't headed there right now. "Snatch (there's the name) from the fire and save him. Save her."
How can you fight for their eternal soul? First, show love to them in ways that will mean something to them. And show them the difference Jesus makes by being like Him in ways that will stand out in contrast to the other people they know in that same environment. The real fight for them, though, is in the Throne Room of Almighty God. Keep storming heaven, praying for their rescue every day, by name.
Ask God to open a door for you to explain your relationship with Jesus, to open their heart to Him and to you, and to open your mouth to tell them about Him. Saving them is going to take a friend who will take the risks, pay the price, and make the changes necessary to rescue them, and to never, never let go. As long as there's breath, there's hope! And for your friend, the fight is life or death!