Victoriously Rescued – April 25, 2022

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood.
Revelation 1:5

Victoriously Rescued

Can you picture the scene in the old black and white silent movie? The young lady is in obvious distress. Heavy ropes are wrapped around her, securing her to the railroad tracks. In the distance, you can see the train getting closer and closer. This isn’t going to end well. The look on her face expresses helplessness and fear. The train rumbles on, smoke billowing from its chimney as it bears down on the poor woman. Just then, the hero arrives. With a few quick swings of his ax, the ropes are severed, and the young lady is free. The tragedy is averted. The hero smiles.

Can you picture the scene? We are in obvious distress. The heavy ropes of sin are wrapped around us. Every day an honest assessment of our actions, our words, and our attitudes reveals a very tragic scenario. We have fallen short. We haven’t treated others with selfless love—sometimes we do, but not always, as God demands. We haven’t always used our time wisely and honorably. We haven’t always spoken good and godly words. If we don’t get help, things will not end well. What can we do but cry out, “Lord, have mercy on us! Lord, save us!”

Thankfully Jesus, our hero, came to save us. He didn’t use an ax to cut us free. Instead, he shed his own blood. He has freed us! It really happened. Our selfishness, our wrong words, our mistreatment of others—all of it was taken away from us by our hero, Jesus. He died for us. He rose again. We are forgiven. The tragedy is averted. The hero smiles.

Prayer:
Lord, I daily fall short of the demands of your law. I confess that I am sinful; I need you. Point me to the sacrifice you made on the cross and to the empty tomb, from which you rose victoriously. As a freed and forgiven child of God, help me to face today and every day with confidence and a renewed commitment to walk with you. Amen.