I
t was a real bright spot in a war-torn area where a fierce war had been raging for far too long. As is the case in these situations, many men, women and children suffer terrible deprivation, and many lost their lives to the bullets of the enemy.
Our story takes place in Mosul, Iraq, where the fighting had been unrelenting for several months. Dave Eubank, a 56-year-old aid worker, who had once been a Special Forces soldier, was working near the front lines of the battle. He noticed movement among several of the dead bodies lining a wall. It was a little 6-year-old girl! He decided to risk his life in an attempt to save the little girl’s life.
Counting the Cost
With some careful planning, the attempt was made. The U. S. military dropped smoke to cover their actions, and the Iraqis provided a tank for them to run behind. With two of his colleagues providing cover for him, Eubank, wearing only a helmet and a bullet-proof vest, ran out among the gunshots and snatched the little girl from among the dead. Then he ran back to his friends and safety.
He had done it! Not only did they rescue the little girl, but they also went back and rescued two men. He had counted the cost and knew the risk that he was taking. He later told a reporter that “I really thought that I was going to die at that moment.” But he had put his trust in God, and he gave Him the credit for helping him. God promises in His Word, the Bible, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me” (Psalm 50:1515And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. (Psalm 50:15)).
A Costlier Rescue
Did you know that God considers us as being “dead in trespasses and sins”? That is our state and condition before a sin-hating God. We, too, are just as helpless as that little girl was to save herself. Not only was she helpless, but also she had been lying underneath her mother’s dead body for two days, surrounded by the dead bodies of her family. She definitely needed rescuing! And so do we if we do not know the Lord Jesus as our Savior. We are in the very same condition as that little girl: helpless, in our sins, and in need of a Savior.
Just as there was someone willing to rescue that little girl, there is hope and salvation for us. “When we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. ... But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-86For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6‑8)). When we realize our lost, helpless condition before a holy and just God, we can call upon Him, and He will deliver us from the wrath of God because of our sins. This does not mean that we will never sin again, but that we have put our trust in God’s Son, who shed His blood and died on Calvary’s cross for us. Then we can confidently say that we are “now justified [made right with God] by His blood” and that “we shall be saved from wrath through Him” (Romans 5:99Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. (Romans 5:9)).
Recognizing Real Risks
Dave Eubank knew the risk — he knew that there was a great chance that he could have been killed. After all, these ISIS fighters were experienced and were experts at what they were doing. Their snipers had ruthlessly shot down children and any other civilians that had tried to flee. He also had a loving wife and three children to think of. He had seen many of his Iraqi military friends die in the last month — two senior commanders had died right next to him. When asked why he did it, he said that he thought of the verse, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:1313Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)).
But we were not friends to God. We were in rebellion against Him, content to live in our sins, totally apart from God. There was nothing we could do to save ourselves from an eternity separated from God. But God made known His great love towards us in that His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, left those courts of glory above to come and die and shed His blood for us on Calvary’s cross. “If, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (Romans 5:1010For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. (Romans 5:10)). When we accept God’s gift of salvation by putting our trust in the finished work on the cross, we are “reconciled” (made right with God) and are “saved” (have eternal life with God). Won’t you accept God’s free gift of salvation?
The little six-year-old girl needed a rescuer from flying bullets in a war zone. But other dangers lie closer to home. Hiding from hurtling trains can be a tricky business. Find out how tricky it can be in Surviving in a Subway Station.