Getting rescued

Christians often get into debates about how we get ‘saved’. Some emphasise the need for personal response; others reckon it is all of God. Like many such debates, the truth lies in accepting a certain tension, that there is truth on both sides.

How about this as an illustration. A person falls in a river. She can’t swim and will drown unless someone comes to her rescue because she hasn’t the capacity to save herself. Someone rushes to the riverbank and throws her a lifebelt. She flings herself on it, taking hold of it so she can be brought safely to shore.

When she gets to safety she can’t pat herself on the back for taking hold of the lifebelt. It was an act of sheer desperation arising from a clearly recognised need for help. Then again, she would have drowned had she not taken hold of the lifebelt and sought to either save herself or simply give up.

My salvation is based on God’s gracious action in offering me rescue. Without him throwing me a lifebelt I would surely drown. However, that offer of salvation does me no good at all unless I take hold of it. I would just as surely drown if I ignore it or dismiss it as unnecessary.

God’s grace is the foundation of our rescue and comes before any response on our part. And yet our faith response is necessary if we are to be rescued. Grace is the offer; faith is the acceptance.

Blessings
David Reay