A 911 call alerted first responders that a man was slowly wading out into San Francisco Bay, inching his way to ending his life there. Soon a group of firefighters - along with a crowd of 75 people - were watching as this desperate man went deeper and deeper, occasionally looking back at the shore. They stood there for an hour.
And they watched him die. Without anyone making a move to help him. I can only imagine this man looking back at those spectators, wondering if anyone cared if he lived or died. And I wonder how life-changing it might have been if someone had been willing to try to save him. It's all just sickening.
And, understandably, everyone's been quick to jump on those firefighters and onlookers who did nothing while a man died in front of them. But I'm seeing something else in this horribly sad incident. I see something of myself - and so many of my fellow Jesus-followers - in that scene by the bay. Because all too often, we stand idly by as people around us go steadily to their death. An eternal death, forever away from God, because that's the penalty for hijacking the running of our life from Him.
God tells us that He has "given us eternal life and this life is in His Son" - because His Son did the dying for all our sinning. And "whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life" (1 John 5:11-12). There's no way the people we care about can get into heaven without Jesus. And He's left with us that life-or-death information their eternity depends on.
So our orders from God are to "rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter" (Proverbs 24:11). To remain silent about my Jesus to someone without Him is equivalent to watching them slowly die in front of me. When I have, hidden in my heart, what could save them.
I'm sure those people on the shore each had their reasons - or excuses - for doing nothing. But there is no excuse standing by when it's within your power to save someone who's dying.
We all know the reasons - or excuses - we offer for our silence about heaven's Rescuer. Fear of offending...fear of damaging a relationship...fear of not being liked...fear of messing it up. Those fears all have one thing in common. They're all about me. Isn't it time I had a greater fear than what might happen to me if I go in for the rescue - the fear of what will happen to them if I don't. Because life now without Jesus is hard. And life forever without Him is horrible.
Jesus jumped in to rescue me at the cost of His life. How can I stay on the shore any longer and watch people I know slip away without Him? Without a chance to live forever. And I am their chance.