Salvation

Salvation

For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people.

Titus 2:11

During the summer, my sons and I used to spend time at our community’s swimming pool whenever the weather allowed. I was impressed with the many lifeguards stationed every few feet around the pool. Usually they were a quiet presence, but one day my youngest son and I saw a lifeguard perform the service she was trained to do—deliver a swimmer from difficulty and drowning.

A little girl around the age of five had jumped off the highest diving board. After entering the water, she surfaced but was thrashing and gasping for air, unable to swim from the middle of the pool over to the edge. The lifeguard blew her whistle, promptly jumped in, rescued the little girl, and delivered her to the edge of the pool. Once the child was out of the water, she was visibly upset but all right. Everyone nearby heaved a sigh of relief!

My son had heard the word salvation many times, but that day he had a mental picture of it—deliverance from difficulty or death. Just as every swimmer in the pool was within sight of a lifeguard, so every person in the world is within sight of God. Salvation through Jesus has appeared to all, and all of us need to realize that we cannot make it through life on our own. The Bible teaches that for us to experience salvation, we need to believe that Jesus is God and turn to him in saving faith.

Through a common experience of going to the pool, we witnessed a not-so-common rescue. It was a reminder to me and to my son that God’s plan for the whole world is salvation.

God,

We’re thankful whenever a person is rescued from difficulty or distress. Thank you that because of your death on the cross, you have offered us salvation. Amen.