One Spring day, my husband and I took our three children, then ages 4, 2½, and 1, to an arts festival downtown. It’s a free, annual festival that showcases a wide variety of types of art. Most people probably get to look at some of the art. Phil and I, due to having three such young kids, got to look at the concession stands. In fact, we were herding ourselves, our double stroller, and our four-year-old towards supper when we passed by a sewer drain. You know—one of those places where there’s a big hole under the curb that leads down to who-knows-where, and a slope from the street down towards the nonexistent curb so that rainwater can run off into the sewers. Ellie had been walking near the curb, and as we got close to the drain, I began to get nervous. I could just envision her falling into the drain. “Ellie, be careful,” I said.
She moved a scant few inches away from the drain and closer to me. “Why?” I could hear her asking in my head, because normally, she wants to know the reason for everything, how everything works, what will happen if something else happens, etc. Amazingly enough, she didn’t ask out loud this time, but she continued in my imagination. “Would I fall in?”
“You might,” I would say seriously, the tone of my voice just right so as to warn her to be careful but not to scare her unduly.
“How would I get out?” she would ask.
And I, demonstrating my motherly powers of reassurance, as well as of the ability to rescue her from absolutely anything, would reply, “I’d climb in and get you out.” And I imagined myself unhesitatingly sliding down into the sewer and rescuing my little girl, valiantly putting out of my mind the stench as well as thoughts of all kinds of bacteria, diseases, and who knows what else.
But then, I realized something. What I was proposing to do for my daughter, should she find herself trapped in sewage and darkness, unable to climb out, was just what Jesus did for us when we found ourselves in the same situation.
We were all trapped in the sewage (sin) of this world and of our lives, living in darkness, unable to climb out. So what did a loving father do? He sent His Son to climb down into the sewage with us and rescue us. Just as the stench of sewage would have assaulted my nostrils were I to climb in to rescue Ellie, so the stench of sin must have assaulted the nostrils of God as He came to this earth and began to live among us. But did He hesitate to climb in? No. He was willing to get Himself dirty in order to be able to wrap His arms around us and say, “I love you. And I’m your Way Out.”
Don’t misunderstand me: Jesus never sinned. As the Son of God, He was perfectly righteous and perfectly sinless. But He chose to live surrounded by sin, because He chose to live with sinners. Isn’t that amazing? In fact, what could be more astounding than the fact that God Himself, pure and holy, would climb into the sewer with us to get us out? He could have said, “Sorry. It’s your own fault you’re in there,” and left us to drown in our sin. But He didn’t. Why?
The answer is simple. First, He loved us. If Ellie had been in that sewer, the only way to show her my love that would have mattered to her would have been to jump in there with her and get her out. Nothing less would have convinced her I loved her. But saving her would have left no doubt in her mind for the rest of her life. Second, Jesus desired to bring glory to God. If I had slipped into the sewer to rescue Ellie and emerged with her, I would have been a hero. I probably would have gotten my name, picture, and story in the paper. People would have recognized my mother-love and admired my character. It’s the same with God. By loving and rescuing us who were caught in sewage, God makes Himself known to the world. He can be known as a hero. We now know His love and admire His character.
We’re out of the sewer. Nothing less than this rescue would have convinced us of God’s love. But His saving us should leave no doubt in our minds as to how much He loves us.
Meditate on that today. If you are a Christian, think about what God literally got Himself into so He could rescue you. Realize that you are no longer in the sewer. You are clean and secure in the arms of the One Who loves you most. Bask in that love. If you’re not a Christian—if you don’t know and love Christ—then call out to Him from the sewer. Let Him rescue you and clean you up. Your life will never be the same. And that’s a wonderful thing.
Colossians 1:13—He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.