Grab the Rope

Two men were in a boat at Niagara Falls and found themselves caught in the current. The men jumped from their boat and swam for the shore. At the last minute, ropes from the shore were thrown out to them. One man grabbed the rope and was pulled to shore.

The other man grabbed a rope, but at the same moment the rope came into his hand, a log floated by him. The confused man, instead of hanging onto the rope, grabbed the log. It was a fatal mistake. Both men were in imminent danger, but the one was pulled to shore because he had a connection to the land. The other, clinging to the floating log, was carried over the falls and was killed.

A saving connection with God has been offered to us in Jesus Christ. He’s on the shore holding the rope. As we lay hold of Him with the hand of faith, he pulls us to shore. However, there are also logs that pass by us. We have to cling to one or the other. Today you have a choice to make. Reach out to Jesus and be saved. He's there waiting for you.

The Final Exam

A group of college students was about to take a final exam in a logic class that was known for its difficult exams. The professor told them they could bring as much information to the exam as could fit onto a piece of notebook paper. Most students crammed as many facts as possible on their 8-1/2 x 11 inch sheet of paper. But one student walked into class, put a piece of notebook paper on the floor, and had an advanced logic student stand on the paper. The advanced logic student told him everything he needed to know. He was the only student to receive an “A.”

The ultimate final exam will come when we stand before God and he asks, “Why should I let you in?” On our own, we can’t pass that exam. Our creative attempts to earn eternal life fall far short. But we have Someone who will stand in for us, and His name is Jesus.

The Stubstitution

During World War II, Father Maximilian Kolbe, was a Catholic priest and a prisoner at Auschwitz. On August 14, 1941 a prisoner escaped from the camp. The rule was that if any person escaped, ten prisoners would be killed. All the prisoners were brought out. The commandant screamed, “The fugitive has not been found! You will all pay for this. Ten of you will be locked in the starvation bunker without food or water until you die.”

As you can imagine, the prisoners were terrified. The ten were selected, including a prisoner named Franciszek Gajowniczek. He cried out in anguish, “My poor wife! My poor children! What will they do?” When he uttered this cry of dismay, Father Kolbe stepped forward and stood before the commandant and said, “I am a Catholic priest. Let me take his place. I am old. He has a wife and children.” Gajowniczek was returned to the ranks, and the priest took his place.

The Nazis kept Kolbe in the starvation bunker for two weeks and then put him to death by lethal injection. Gajowniczek survived the prison. He died on March 13, 1995 in Poland at the age of 95. That was 53 years after Father Kolbe had saved him. But he never forgot that priest. Every year on August 14 he went back to Auschwitz. He spent the next five decades paying homage to Father Kolbe, honoring the man who died on his behalf. In October of 1982, Franciszek Gajowniczek, his wife, children, and grandchildren gathered with 150,000 others in St. Peter’s Square in Rome to celebrate Father Kolbe’s victory over hatred at Auschwitz.

On the cross Jesus became our substitute. A divine exchange occurred. Jesus took our place and died the death that we deserved.