Most everybody knows that cats will climb trees. Sometimes it’s when they are afraid of another animal, like a dog. Or sometimes it might be because they are trying to get away from their owners who want to take them into the house. Or sometimes cats climb trees just for the fun of it. I’m sure they can see lots more up in a tree than what they can see on the ground.
Most cats can climb back down without any problem. However, once in a while one can’t get back down, especially if it is up high in a tree and is frightened. Somebody nearby usually knows when this happens, because a frightened cat will meow and meow and meow. Recently in British Columbia, Canada, a frightened cat was stuck high up in a tree for five days.
Terry noticed the frightened cat when it was 7 meters (23 feet) high in the tree. He got out his ladder to see if he could reach the cat, but his ladder wasn’t long enough to get near it. To make matters worse, the cat climbed higher each day, until finally it was up about 25 meters (82 feet). That was a mighty tall tree with a very frightened cat high up in the branches! Who could possibly rescue it? Terry had tried, but he couldn’t help the cat.
Sometimes people run away from God! Maybe they are afraid of Him, because they know they are sinners and guilty before Him. The Bible tells us that God hates sin, and He says there is a price that must be paid for our sins if we want to enter heaven someday. But there’s nothing you or I can do to pay for them and wipe our record clean. If we die still in our sins, they will take us to hell where we will pay for them for a very long time—eternity. Can anybody rescue us sinners?
Rescue was still on the minds of the neighbors who heard the cat’s cries day after day. Knowing that the fire department has long ladders to rescue people from burning buildings, they called and explained that the cat had been up in the tree for five days and needed somebody to rescue it. But the fire department couldn’t be convinced to bring their long ladders to help this poor cat. Terry couldn’t help, and the fire department wasn’t interested in rescuing animals. Could anybody rescue the cat?
Then the neighbors came up with a plan, but they were going to have to pay for the rescue. They all donated money and collected $100, which was enough to hire someone willing to climb the tree and bring down the cat. The man they hired knew what to do. When he climbed the tree, he took a backpack with him. When he reached the cat, he carefully lifted it into the backpack and brought it safely down to the ground, where I’m sure somebody had food and water waiting for the hungry and thirsty cat.
Just like the cat, we can’t rescue ourselves. Because God loves sinners and wants us to be in heaven, He made a plan to rescue us from our sins. When He asked, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, said, “Here am I; send Me” (Isaiah 6:88Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. (Isaiah 6:8)). Because of His great love for sinners, He was willing to go all the way to Calvary’s cross to pay the price for our sins. It cost Him far more than $100; it cost Him His very life! He did not turn back from the terrible suffering and shame He knew He would have to bear for our rescue. Isaiah 50:66I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. (Isaiah 50:6) tells us some of what He suffered from man: “I gave My back to the smiters, and My cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not My face from shame and spitting.” And then He was nailed to a cross where He took God’s punishment for the sins of anyone who will believe and accept Him as Saviour. You may ask, “Why did the Lord Jesus do this for us?” It was because of His deep and wonderful love for poor, lost sinners.
Will you let the Lord Jesus rescue you and save you from a lost eternity in hell paying for your own sins? You need to admit to Him that you are a sinner and are truly sorry for all your sins, and He will gladly wash them away forever. “The blood of Jesus Christ [God’s] 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)). The matter of your sins will be all settled! Then thank Him for His wonderful love and for being your Saviour.
ML-12/02/2012