The sparkling blue water of the Bermuda bay lay before me. I was here with other young Christians for a week of gospel outreach, and we had the afternoon off to swim. The water was warm and relaxing.
Suddenly, my friend’s head popped up in the waves. “Hey, Scott,” Steve called, “what are you doing over there?”
“Just snorkeling around,” I answered.
“You have to come check out what I just found by these rocks . . . an underwater cave!”
Now, I loved the water and I loved snorkeling, but an underwater cave didn’t sound too safe to me.
“Are you sure you can make it out?”
“Oh yeah, I’ve gone through twice now. Come on, check it out!”
Steve was pretty sure that it was safe, and so I started to consider it. He was a bigger guy than I was, so I knew that if he fit through all the passageways, I would too. But I had one more question.
“How long does the swim take if you go straight through it?” I asked.
“I don’t know; let me check for you.”
Steve waded down the beach and disappeared underwater. I stood in the sun and water and studied where he had disappeared. Checking out the cave did sound like fun. I had always wanted to explore some new place. As a runner, I could hold my breath for over three minutes, so I knew that it would take a pretty long underwater swim to make me say no.
Steve’s head broke the surface, and with a grin he called to me, “Two minutes and seventeen seconds to get down there and through it.”
Knowing that I had almost a minute of extra time if something unexpected happened, I ran over to join Steve. He pointed out the spot where we would go underwater and where we would come out on the other side. He said that he would lead, and all I would have to do was follow him through.
We plunged the ten feet down to the silence and dim light of the cave under the sea. For the first few turns, all I did was follow Steve’s flippers through the rocky maze. But then . . .
It wasn’t a very narrow passage that caused the problem; what caused it was my brushing too close to the wall and my shorts got snagged on an outcropping. Knowing that I couldn’t tell Steve to slow down, I reached back as quickly as I could and unsnagged myself. But I wasn’t fast enough. When I looked up, Steve was gone!
I tried to tell myself, Okay, this can’t be that bad. . . . The way out is probably just around that cor-ner. . . . After all, Steve did this alone.
I couldn’t turn around to go back the way I came in, so I glided into the next passage and turned in the direction that I thought I should go.
Back on the beach, I hadn’t thought about the disaster that awaited one wrong underwater turn. God’s Word, the Bible, tells us very plainly what is ahead for sinners. Because of our sins, each of us has already made that “wrong turn,” whether or not we want to face the truth. “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man; but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:1212There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. (Proverbs 14:12)). God has a path in life that we are to take if we want to live with Him in heaven. Each of us must admit that we are a sinner, repent of our sins, and let the Lord Jesus remove those sins. If we think that a path of sins won’t matter to God or that trying to be as good as we can will satisfy Him, our wrong turn of sin will end in disaster!
And there in that underwater cave, I was about to discover the frightening outcome of my wrong turn. The turn I took brought me into a large chamber with light filtering down through an opening at the top. That must be the way out up there, I thought.
I swam toward the surface, eager to get some fresh air and be done with this little adventure. But the opening that was letting light in was not big enough to be my exit! However, hoping I could squeeze through it, I put my head and arms through—and got stuck!
I was so close to safety . . . yet so far away. I knew I was in serious trouble, and I couldn’t hold my breath much longer. I thrashed around, trying to get free, trying not to panic, and began to pray in earnest. The coral that I was stuck in had slashed my rib cage and shoulders, and the pain was making the situation worse. All I could do was pray: Lord, I know that I’m saved from my sins. I know that if I die I will be in heaven with Thee. But, Lord, I don’t want to die right now. Please do with me whatever is best.
And that’s the last thing I remember before everything went black. Next thing I knew I was at the surface of the water next to Steve. He excitedly turned to me.
“How did you like it?”
“Steve,” I said, “I got stuck in there! How did I get out?”
Steve was puzzled. “Stuck? What happened? Hey man, you’re bleeding!”
“Yeah, I need these coral cuts taken care of. Let’s go in to shore.”
Steve hadn’t been aware that I had nearly died in that cave, but I knew full well what had happened. I had taken a wrong turn, called on the Lord, and the Lord had saved my life. Thank you, Lord, I prayed.
The Lord wants to save us from the wrong turn of our sins. He wants to show us the right way. He loves us and He cares. After all, He died on the cross so that He could save us from our sins!
Thirty years later, I still have coral scars all over my chest and shoulders, reminding me that taking a wrong turn can lead to death. But it also reminds me that the Lord can save not only physically, like He saved my life that day, but He first wants to save our souls.
ML-02/03/2002