One day some years ago the people living near Niagara Falls were startled by the cry: “Man in Niagara! Man in Niagara!” So they all ran, thronging the Suspension Bridge and crowding the cliffs nearby.
Then some one cried out: “See, see, over there—he is hanging on a rock!” pointing as he spoke to a low water-washed rock about sixty yards below the great falls on the American side.
Then the question went through all the murmuring crowd: “Can we save him? Can we save him?” They got a long rope ladder and threw it over, but there were some bushes growing out of a crevice down part way in the rocks, and as the rope ladder fell, it got tangled in the bushes, and they could not loose it.
Then they asked this other question: “Who will go down and clear the rope ladder and try to save that man?” It was a terrible thing to do. The man who dared to do it would do so at the greatest risk of his own life.
At last a brave young fellow stepped forward and said, “I’ll go.” Carefully he climbed down the rope ladder to the bushes; with difficulty he got the ladder clear and then it fell near the imperilled man. The rope ladder swung and swayed, and below the young man were the dashing boiling waters. One loose grasp, one misstep, and nothing could save him. But he went slowly and steadily down and down.
At last he reached the spot where the drenched, buffeted, weakened man was clinging. Holding with one hand firmly to the swaying ladder and putting one foot as firmly as he could upon the low rocks the water was dashing over, with the other hand he took hold of the poor fellow, and, saying words of comfort to him, got him to take hold of the rope ladder and try to climb up to the cliffs above.
So, painfully, laboriously, resting often to gain strength, the poor man climbed up, the brave helper below all the while steadying the ladder as best he could. At last he was in reach of the top, and strong arms, reaching over, seized him and lifted him into safety, amid the tears and shouts and eager joy of the multitude.
The story illustrates, though in a poor way, what our Lord Jesus has done for sinners. He was the One Who came down from Heaven to us, amid all the storm and death and judgment our sins deserved.
He came down to us. He did not stand, like the people on the cliffs, away off in the far heavens shouting to us to climb up. He was like the brave helper in the story: from the far heavens He Himself came down to us.
But our Lord Jesus does not simply bring the ladder of escape to us. He takes us up in His arms of love and lifts us up completely out of the place of danger and judgment. It was “while we were yet without strength, Christ died for us.” Let us not resist Him, but with deep trust rest our fainting souls on Him. So our Lord Jesus is the One Who comes to us; and there is not one of us who may not be saved because He came.
Come now, before it be too late.
ML-03/20/1977