LightGrams
June 22, 2023
Volume 27, Number 17
As I write this, the search for the Ocean Gate submersible is at a critical stage. The story has dominated the news this week since the last communication on Sunday. The submersible is a sort of mini submarine designed for a maximum of five people, two of whom are crew members. The aim of this watercraft is to take tourists (at a cost of $250,000 each!) to nearly 14,000 feet under the sea to view the remains of the sunken Titanic, which went down off the coast of Newfoundland in 1912.
Many agencies are searching for the submersible, and the clock is ticking. Making the search especially critical is that fact that there is a limited supply of oxygen, and sometime today is when the supply is calculated to be depleted. Aside from a knocking sound that was detected earlier in the week there has been no certain evidence of the whereabouts of these folks. I pray that by the time you read this there will be reports of their rescue, though the likelihood of this is growing slim.
There have been many rescue missions through the years that have captured the public’s attention. In this category might fall the evacuation of more than 300,000 British soldiers at Dunkirk during World War 2 in 1940. Another notable example is the rescue of 33 miners in Chile in 2010 69 days after a roof collapse where they were working. In these and many other examples, the world held its breath as it waited for good news. Sadly, not all rescue efforts have happy endings.
The greatest rescue operation in history was launched two millennia ago. Jesus spoke of it in Luke 19:10: “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” In this case “lost” means much more than being in peril of physical death; to be lost in this sense means being cut off from God, the source of all life. Nothing could be more perilous. Not anything.
The effect of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection is that the gospel can save those who are lost: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek” (Romans 1:16). This is incredibly good news: anyone who is willing to come to Christ in faithful submission can be saved, no matter what their past life may be. This is truly headline news!
Then why aren’t more people Christians? 2 Corinthians 4:3,4 tells why: “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded …” To our knowledge no one is trying to prevent the rescue of the Ocean Gate travelers, but there is definitely one who tries to keep the lost from hearing and acting on the good news of Jesus Christ.
Tragically, time is running out for spiritual rescue for all of us. Jesus told the Parable of the Rich Fool in Luke 12:16-21, to show that life may end unexpectedly for any of us. While most focus on making a living and accumulating possessions, Jesus shows the most important objective of all is to be “rich toward God”. Do we have our priorities properly set?
Has your soul been recovered by Jesus? He is actively searching for you and won’t cease His efforts until time runs out. If you’d like to know more about how to be saved, we’d love to talk with you.
Come to the light God offers! Study His word, the Bible. Worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24). Get in touch with us if you’d like to discuss these ideas further.
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Copyright, 2023, Timothy D. Hall. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from the New King James Version (Copyright, 1990, Thomas Nelson, Inc.).
“LightGrams” is produced by the Central Church of Christ, 2722 Oakland Avenue, Johnson City, Tennessee, 37601, and is written by Tim Hall, minister. It is sent free of charge every Thursday to all who request it. To subscribe or to receive more information, write to “[email protected]” (our E-mail address), to the U.S. mail address above, or call (423) 282-1571.
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