Stephen and Kevin Schwartz, Stephen’s father, and two cousins were having a great time exploring the western edge of Death Valley National Park. Their dog Shadow was with them, running playfully along beside them. Shadow was enjoying it as much as they were, sniffing and scrambling along the rocky ground. Suddenly Kevin yelled out that Shadow had fallen into a hole. This was dangerous and rough country near the deserted mining town of Panamint City, and the hole was very deep. The boys listened intently. Sure enough, they could hear whimpering coming from far below.
One of the boys ran to a nearby ranger station and grabbed an aluminum ladder. They put the ladder down the hole, but it fell beyond their reach. The hole was thirty feet deep. At first they could hear Shadow’s whimpers far below them, but as time went on, there was no sound at all. The dog did not respond to their calls, and they believed their much-loved pet had died.
Shadow had been with them for ten years, ever since she was a puppy, and they were too sad to continue their camping trip. With heavy hearts they shaped a crude wooden cross from some dead wood and bits of hemp rope. They placed it beside the hole and then went home.
But Shadow had not died!
A pool of water in the bottom of that hole supplied water for the dog to drink, but there was no way out. A thirty-foot wall of rock was far beyond Shadow’s ability to climb, and this was wild country, far from traffic or people.
Doesn’t that seem like a hopeless situation? And yet a sinner who wants to get to heaven by his own efforts is in a far worse situation. God has said, “There shall in no wise enter into [heaven] anything that defileth” (Revelation 21:2727And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. (Revelation 21:27)). Our defiling sins will not permit anyone to enter heaven. That includes you and me, because the Bible says that “all have sinned” (Romans 5:1212Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (Romans 5:12)). Nothing we can do will ever change the fact that we have sin on our hearts. Is there any hope for sinners? We are trapped by our sins, and the Bible says that is like being trapped in a “horrible pit” (Psalm 40:22He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. (Psalm 40:2)).
The outlook for that little dog certainly seemed hopeless. Long desert days went by. Five weeks later, Scott and Darren Mentz were searching for the source of a spring near Panamint City. As they struggled up a shale-strewn slope, they stumbled on a gaping, four-foot-wide hole. In front of the hole were some strange cross-like pieces of wood covered in cobwebs. Stopping to rest, the boys tossed rocks into the hole. They could hear the rocks splash in water far below. Then suddenly they heard barking.
“Is that coming from the hole?” Scott asked his brother in amazement. They whistled into the chasm, and the barking began again. They were horrified to think of a dog down there alone in the blackness. Darren ran down the hill and grabbed an old yellow hose they had seen lying near a water storage tank. With this tied around Scott’s waist, Darren carefully lowered his brother into the hole. When Scott finally reached the bottom, he grabbed the frightened and skinny Shadow, and his brother hauled them both back up. The dog’s collar had a tag with a phone number on it, and they called the Schwartz home.
Stephen answered the phone and could hardly believe it when he heard that Shadow was still alive! “I never felt so happy before!” he exclaimed. Shadow had lost five of her thirty pounds, but their veterinarian said the dog was in good health. It seemed like a miracle that she had survived thirty-five days in that hole with no food. Now, thanks to her brave rescuers, she was safe.
It was a courageous act for Scott to go down into that hole. He felt sorry for that helpless dog and cared enough to take a great risk. It is much more wonderful that there is Someone who not only cares for you and me, but He loves us - someone who was willing to rescue us at a far, far greater cost than the scary trip Scott made down into that hole. The Lord Jesus left His home in heaven to come to a world where He knew people would hate Him and misunderstand Him and finally nail Him to a cross. He did this because He loves us and wanted to rescue us from the “horrible pit” of sin. On the cross He bore God’s punishment against sin, opening the way for anyone who would accept Him as Saviour to be set free from their sins. If we will believe that He died for us and that He was raised from the dead, our sins are washed away and we are clean! With our defiling sins gone, the door to heaven is open for us!
How much we owe to the Lord Jesus, who loved us enough to die for us. Have you accepted His wonderful promise that opens the door to heaven? “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)).
ML-09/26/2004