Have you ever been camping alone in the wilderness? I mean real wilderness, with no one else around for miles? Robert was a young man who chose to live alone in the wilds of northern British Columbia in Canada for several years. He lived in a small cabin while he panned for gold, trying to save money to go to college.
One morning he set out for a walk to the nearby creek. As he walked along Robert’s keen ear caught the sound of distressing moans. He headed toward the sound which came from an area of dangerous quicksand. There he found a moose hopelessly stuck in the slimy mud. She was still alive, but only her head and shoulders were above the muck, and she was exhausted from struggling. It would be only a short time before she disappeared under the quicksand that was sucking her down.
This moose was in real trouble, and she knew it. Sometimes we boys and girls and grown-ups do not realize that we are sinking in something more serious than quicksand. Our problem is hopeless too, for “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:2323For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23)). We need a Saviour just as the moose needed someone to save her.
Robert loved animals. The moose is one of the largest and strongest animals in the forest, but even a moose cannot get out of quicksand. Robert knew what he had to do to save her.
He turned and ran back to his cabin for a strong rope. He lassoed the moose around her neck and tied the other end of the rope to a tree. Then he cut a thick branch to use to twist the rope as a windlass between the moose and the tree. Each time he turned the branch it would shorten the rope and tug on the moose. As the rope tightened around the moose’s neck, she kicked and rolled and splashed. Robert continued to twist the rope, and finally the moose had one foot on solid ground. His idea was working, and eventually the muddy giant was free again.
A moose can weigh up to one thousand pounds, and Robert was not a big man. The rescue had cost him a great deal of effort, as well as getting him rather muddy too. But to be able to offer boys and girls salvation from their sins, the Lord Jesus had to die. Without the Lord Jesus, we too will perish, for we cannot pay for our own sins. “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:66For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. (Romans 5:6)). He had to go to the cross of Calvary and shed His blood to pay for our sins. “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:77But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)).
If the Lord Jesus has rescued you from your sins, have you ever thanked Him for what He did? The moose certainly was not thankful to Robert for her rescue. When she felt firm ground under her feet, she snorted and charged at him, for she was a very angry moose. Robert expected this since she could not understand that he had saved her life.
However, Robert’s job was not finished. The rope was still around the moose’s neck and around the tree. How was Robert going to get that rope off a very angry moose?
He stayed a little farther away than the length of the rope and ran in circles around the tree. As the moose ran after him, the rope wound around the tree and got shorter and shorter. Suddenly the moose was jerked to a stop because all of the rope was wrapped around the tree! She had been running so fast that she actually crashed against the tree and fell down. Now she was more frightened than angry. Quickly Robert ran to the moose and cut the rope off her neck. The moose loped off into the woods free, but still not understanding what had happened.
Robert’s love of wild animals made him feel that it was worth all his efforts, even though he had taken a risk. The moose was only an animal and could not thank him. But it is sad to see children who know the Lord Jesus as their Saviour go off on their own way when He has died to save them. He loves to hear us thank Him and wants us to live for Him. “He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again” (2 Corinthians 5:1515And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. (2 Corinthians 5:15)).
Is the Lord Jesus your Saviour? Have you thanked Him, and are you living to please Him?
ML-10/12/1997