Rescuer

Even after humanity fell, there was still hope - God would bring a Redeemer. We can know this Redeemer and walk with Him, knowing and walking in the One who has rescued us. Romans chapter 5 states:
6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

The sin nature passed down from generation to generation has the potential to keep us separated from God.  We need a new heart, we need to be regenerated and reconciled to God.  That is what Jesus has done for us.  We have no ability to save ourselves, but Jesus died in our place and rose from the dead so that we might come to know Him and experience the state of being rescued. And, in His love residing in our hearts, we can help to communicate that message by word and deed.

+++++

Jesus is our rescuer, and He has brought us out from under the power of sin and death and has provided a way to walk in His forgiveness. Galatians chapter 1 says:
3 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,
4 who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
5 to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Marco Sanchez was a prison inmate who was doing work detail at a factory in Kentucky in December.  That night, the unexpected occurred - a deadly tornado powered into the Candle Factory in Mayfield, Kentucky that night and destroyed the building.  A ChristianHeadlines.com story recounted Marco's role in helping people that night:

Initially trapped under the rubble, Sanchez managed to find a hole and push himself out from under it.

After freeing himself, Sanchez, who had a broken leg and cracked ribs, proceeded to pull other victims out from under the rubble. He then caught a ride with a volunteer firefighter and traveled to the emergency room with several other injured people.

Sanchez, who was in prison because of "a theft he committed while he was homeless," went back to jail after his hospital stay, and was lauded by the county sheriff's department for his bravery.  Sheriff Jon Hayden wrote on Facebook, "Mr. Sanchez had a lot of decisions to make that night. He could have made the decision to only save himself, but he didn't. His actions likely resulted in other lives being saved. The series of decisions he made over the next several hours were the right decisions, and we applaud you for that, sir..."

He was given the Sheriff's Meritorious Award and he is now a free man, having been released from prison earlier this month.  The Christian Headlines article goes on to say:

In an interview with KFVS 12, Sanchez attributed his ability to rescue the other tornado victims despite his injuries to God.

"This is really God," said Sanchez. "I've had time to evaluate what I went through that night and everything that I did, I can honestly say it was God."

The news of Sanchez being recognized for his actions caught the attention of his sister, Gabriela Matloub, who had not seen him in 15 years. Matloub, who lives in Arizona, traveled to the ceremony and surprised her brother.

She is quoted as saying, "The strength and the selflessness and just the thought of not thinking of him at that moment whether he was in pain or not, just to know that there was other people that needed him and find the strength to go back and help..."

And, to show appreciation, the Sheriff's Department is helping Marco out - the sheriff said, according to the TV station: "We need to try to help him you know, sometimes good people make mistakes,” adding, “Just because you’ve made a mistake in you into the criminal justice system doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re a bad person. And I think people sometimes stereotype others. And this if there was ever an example, a good example of why you should never judge a book by its cover. It’s this situation right here.” Christian Headlines says that Sanchez has been helping the county out in moving administrative offices, and the sheriff's department has donated a car to him.

This story has several elements around the topic of rescue.  The obvious is that Marco Sanchez served in the role of a rescuer on that dreadful night in Kentucky in December. Despite his own injuries, he pushed through in order to help others. He attributed his own actions that night to the hand of God. Because God loves us, He has provided a rescuer, a Savior, One who faced death for us so that we might live.  And, He calls and empowers us to possess that same sort of love. 

But, there's another dynamic at play here - Marco himself needed to be rescued.  The sheriff in this county was willing to help Sanchez get back on his feet.  Sheriff Hayden said that you shouldn't "judge a book by its cover."  Marco made a mistake, it landed him in jail - now the real choice has come for him: will he be rehabilitated?  Or merely return to making another bad choice?  Or series of bad choices?  That's the story of all our lives: we can see that God will give second chances, but we have to rely on Him to take advantage of those opportunities to walk in them; Jesus has come to set us free, and we can hold on tightly to the promise of His freedom and the power to experience it.