As a fourteen-year-old high school student, I was sitting in class when the teachers instructed us to go to the auditorium. All I thought was, “This is great! We get out of schoolwork!” We sat down facing an old box television, but I never could have guessed what I was going to see that day. We watched the tragedy of 9/11 unfold. So many visuals of that day’s events have stuck with me since then: the planes hitting the World Trade Center towers; the looks of shock and disbelief on the faces of those people walking around the street of New York City; the firefighters and policemen trying to reach people on their radios who had gone inside the buildings to assist; the people with no clear choices jumping from the windows to their deaths, just to escape the flames. As we watched the towers collapse one at a time, I thought, “Why did people go in those buildings to save others?” I struggled to make sense of their sacrifice. Why would they do that? What I saw that day made me scared and sad. At the time, I could not quite understand what I had seen or why it happened.
In the decades since then, we have learned many of the “whys” and “hows.” We continue to mourn the numerous souls who lost their lives that day. I still think of the heroes who ran into the towers, likely knowing that they would not come out alive. Those brave people were solely focused on saving as many people as they could. They were dedicated to their duty as first responders, even if it meant possibly losing their own lives in the process. Years after high school, I applied for EMT school. The heroic actions by everyday people on 9/11 inspired me to want a career in helping others.
We Christians are also first responders in this spiritual race that we are running. People are headed to eternal death in Hell. What are we going to do to save them? Are we going to let someone else run ahead of us to rescue them as we merely watch and do nothing? No, we cannot! We all are responsible to tell them about the One Who can save them from the flames of eternal pain and torment in Hell. We are commanded to win the lost at any cost and then to teach them to become first responders themselves.
Hell is a real place, and people will go there. Who can we tell today? Who can we invite to church today? We each know someone that no one else can help get to Christ but ourselves. Jesus can still save lost sinners, and He commands us to lead them to eternal safety in His salvation. As Christians, we have a duty to respond by rescuing those who need saving from the flames of Hell.
Let me ask: Who was your first responder who led you to eternal safety? Who was the hero who told you about Jesus? Now, even in fear, will you rescue someone yourself? Are you willing to give your life for the eternal life of another? Christian, it is your duty through God’s command to tell others about Jesus. Will you become a hero to the lost?
May we never forget the tragic events or those who died on 9/11. Especially, let us consider the heroes who showed great courage, some making the ultimate sacrifice, to save others. As Christians, may we never forget what Jesus did for us as He sacrificed His own life on the Cross for all mankind. May we strive to go and win others to Jesus, then teach them so they, too, will become first responders for Christ.
Rescue the perishing,
Care for the dying,
Snatch them in pity from sin and the grave;
Weep o’er the erring one, lift up the fallen,
Tell them of Jesus the mighty to save.
Rescue the perishing,
Duty demands it;
Strength for thy labor the Lord will provide;
Back to the narrow way, patiently win them;
Tell the poor wanderer a Savior has died.
Rescue the perishing,
Care for the dying;
Jesus is merciful,
Jesus will save.
– Fanny Crosby
by Mandy Harper
