Search and Rescue

Good morning! I hope you had a fantastic weekend and that your week is off to a great start.

As most of you have seen on the news this weekend, the small town of Greensburg, Kansas was devastated by a powerful tornado this past Friday. This report hit very close to home for our family as we have friends who live in Greensburg. Even as I am writing we still have not heard from some of them. This is also very personal to us, because 6 years ago we lost our own home in a devastating tornado, so those images conjure up many memories.

Today officials continue their house to house search in Greensburg. They are looking for those who are trapped and unaccounted for. It is with this thought of search and rescue that I bring you this morning's encouragement.

Search and rescue, this phrase may bring to mind a variety of mental pictures. You may see men with bloodhounds looking for missing child in the woods. Perhaps you see a Coast Guard diver being hoisted from the water via helicopter with a sailor who has had to abandon ship. Maybe you envision a firefighter climbing to the top of a ladder truck to perform a high angle rescue or a group of good Samaritans digging through a pile of rubble with their hands after an earthquake. No matter what you envision, the principle is still the same, seeking out and retrieving those who find themselves trapped.

For me the ultimate example of search and rescue is found in Jesus. Read His words as recorded in Luke:

Luke 19:10 (NLT)

And I, the Son of Man, have come to seek and save those like him who are lost.

Jesus came to actively seek those who are separated from the love of God. The mental image of the word seek is similar to the action of sifting through the dirt by hand to uncover a victim, just like the images we see after an earthquake or a building collapse.

The search, however, is only the first part of the equation. The task is not complete until the rescue has taken place. That is why Jesus said that He came to "seek" and "save" those who are lost. For us, the rescue took place at the cross. Jesus offered Himself as a living sacrifice to bridge the separation between God and man. We could not bridge that gap on our own. Our best deeds and greatest works still are not enough;it took Jesus to remove the barriers that kept us trapped.

Today as you reflect upon the search and rescue that was done on your behalf, take time to say thank you once again. Take comfort in the fact that Jesus continues to go heart to heart on His divine rescue mission and every day people are being given a new lease on life.

Until next Monday keep the victims of the Greensburg, Eagle Pass and other recent tornadoes in your prayers. May God's richest blessings be yours this week.

Carl