That phrase simply leapt out at me. It was a comment in a Christmas letter that a friend had sent. In it was the statement: God’s gift of rescue. Outside of when you are in dire need, do you ever think about rescue? Rescue… is it simply a ‘saving from’? Webster defines the word as: to free from confinement, danger, or evil. Both ‘deliver’ and ‘save’ are synonyms. While rescuing is always a saving from some one/thing, it is also a deliverance into something and ‘better’ is typically the definition.
The one word that would describe the feelings of the rescuee is relief. Relief that one’s status has changed, improved. Relief that whatever danger existed has been defeated or that you have escaped. Soooo, do you need rescuing? And equally important – do you know what you need rescuing from? Are you willing to be rescued? Before you cavalierly state that anyone needing rescuing is by definition willing – not necessarily.
After the relief of rescue wears off then the feelings of knowing you owe a debt to the rescuer begin. How to repay? But what do you do when there is no way to repay? How do you respond to the rescuer? This can become an obstacle between you and the rescuer if you let it. It takes more strength to accept, graciously, the gift you were given of rescue than any ‘repayment’ could afford. And there are those rescuers who don’t expect repayment.
Being rescued can become a wonderful motivator in terms of how we respond to others. A rescued person does tend to become more accepting, more gracious, more loving. You? God, through Jesus, has rescued every one of us who have accepted His gift. Our only ‘repayment’ is how we respond to Him. It really is quite simple. In responding to Him, follow what His word tells us will please Him.
