The Rescue Basket

Read: John 3:14-17

“Wow!” Henry said as he scrambled aboard the helicopter. “This is so cool!” He and his friend Owen were taking a helicopter ride with Owen’s Uncle Shane, who was a pilot for an emergency helicopter service.

Henry sat down in one of the seats. “I never thought I’d get a chance to ride in one of these!”

Uncle Shane chuckled. “I always have eager passengers. Take my last one, for example. A couple of young guys were mountain climbing near here, and one of them fell over the edge of a cliff and landed on a ledge. He was trapped in an odd spot where no one could climb down to help him, so my partner and I had to fly in to rescue him. Now there was an eager passenger!”

“How did you get him out?” Henry asked. “Was there room to land?”

“No,” replied Uncle Shane, “but this helicopter has a lot of special equipment, like that rescue basket you see over there.” He pointed to a long wire mesh basket attached to a rope. “While I hovered the helicopter over the spot, one of my partners went down in the basket to the man on the ledge. He got him into the basket and brought him back up into the helicopter. That man was even more happy to be on board than you are.”

The boys strapped themselves into their seats. “You know, we’re something like that mountain climber,” Uncle Shane said as he flipped some switches on the console. “He was helpless to save himself, and we’re helpless sinners who aren’t able to save ourselves either.”

“Yeah,” said Owen. “That rescue basket was the only thing that could save him that day, and Jesus is the only one who can save us, right?”

“Exactly,” said Uncle Shane. “He came down to earth and died on the cross to save us. He’s the only one who can rescue us from sin and bring us into the safety of eternal life with Him.”

“So we should be even more thankful than that mountain climber was,” Henry replied. “His life on earth was saved for a while, but Jesus saves us for all eternity.”

“That’s right,” said Uncle Shane. He revved up the helicopter’s engines. “Now, prepare for takeoff!”

–Harry C. Trover

How about you? Did you know that Jesus came to earth to rescue you from sin? He paid the penalty for your sins on the cross so you could be saved. He is the only one who can rescue you from eternal death and give you eternal life. Trust Him as your Savior and know you are safe with Him. (To learn more, go to Have You Heard the Good News?)

Today’s key verse: Everyone who believes in him [Jesus] will have eternal life. John 3:15 (NLT)

Today’s key thought: Only Jesus can rescue us from sin