The picture is still vivid in my mind. The man was wearing blue jeans and a white t-shirt. He stood on a limb and clung to the tree as the waters raged beneath him. Time was running out. The river was rising by the minute and soon the tree that provided refuge for him would be swallowed up by the flood and the man would be lost.
A rescue helicopter was dispatched and hovered above the tree. The air movement created by its rotors kicked up waves beneath the tree and caused the man's white shirt to flap angrily around him. A man descended on a cable from the helicopter. He was wearing a uniform and helmet. He was obviously a trained professional. As the rescuer descended lower, he reached out his arms toward the stranded man, ready to extract him from the tree.
What happened next made a lasting impression upon me. As the video camera focused in on the rescuer and the desperate man, something became apparent: the man would not let go of the tree. Although I don't remember hearing any audio from the coverage, the picture spoke a thousand words. I knew instinctively the exchange that was going on between the two. The rescuer was pleading with the victim to let go of his hold on the tree and reach towards him. The man was reluctant to let go of the security of the tree and trust that his rescuer could actually save him.
What became painfully obvious was that the man was struggling to make a decision. He had climbed a tree for refuge. The tree provided a sense of security. Unfortunately, the tree could not offer real protection from the storm. Trust in the tree was proving to be a misplaced trust. The man's only hope of escaping certain destruction was to turn loose of the tree and turn to his rescuer with both arms. As long as he clutched the tree he faced the reality of being swept away.
As precious moments passed by, the man's need to make a decision became more critical. The flood wasn't waiting. Finally he seemed to come to his senses. He relinquished his hold on the tree and turned towards his rescuer who immediately embraced him in his arms, put a sling around his waist, and hoisted him to the safety of the helicopter.
I think about this event often as it relates to the salvation of the human soul. The Bible says that we are all in a hopeless condition. We've sinned against a holy God who has promised to rain down His wrath on all sinners. We are in danger of being swept away in the torrent of God's judgment. We all cast about, looking for a way to escape our imminent doom. We look for anything that we can cling to for safety from the flood of God's righteous anger against sin. Some grab the tree of religion. Others latch onto the tree of self-righteousness. Still, others find the tree of morality to cling to. We climb into the upper branches of our various trees only to discover that God's churning anger against our sin swirls ever closer to our feet. In any moment we will be swept away and lost forever We can only climb so high and now realize that we still fall short of salvation.
But now, in the midst of our hopeless estate, we hear a noise above the storm. It's the voice of a Man calling to us. We turn our heads over our shoulders and catch a glimpse of Him. A Man has come down from the sky. There He hangs, suspended between heaven and earth. His rescue equipment is two pieces of wood and a few nails. He hangs there with His arms outstretched, ready to receive us if we'll turn loose of our trees.
Our would-be Rescuer pleads with us over the noisy flood to forsake our trees and turn to Him. He assures us that He will do all the work in the rescue. All we need to do is to let go of what we once thought would save us and by faith turn to Him and trust. He implores us to understand that there is no other way to escape the flood. His name is Jesus. It means "Savior".
Some of us will take Him at His word. We will let go of our trees of self-righteousness and religion and turn empty-handed to Him, trusting that He is able to save. Others will hold white-knuckled to their trees, refusing to acknowledge that their own righteousness and morality will never keep them above the flood of judgment against sin. They will surely perish.
A decision is called for. Time is running out. God's wrath won't wait forever. Listen! Hear the sound of your Rescuer's voice calling. He has been sent to pluck you out of the river of God's wrath. Will you trust Him to save you? Will you let go of what you depended upon and trust Jesus instead?