Tomorrow we'll be back in Colorado again after six months in the Arizona desert. It's been a long winter in snow country. I am sure people there are eager for warm weather, especially after the spring snowstorm they received last weekend. They're eager for green leaves and grass after months of bare trees and brown lawns.
I'm sure many folks there are already making plans to hike mountain trails and camp out under the stars. But many, especially those who come to vacation in Colorado, have no idea what they are doing. They show up on the trailhead in sandals, shorts and T-shirts, carrying a water bottle and little else as they head up the trails. They have no map, no compass and no rain gear. If so, they are headed for trouble.
Volunteers for Alpine Rescue tell stories of tourists rescued from certain death after wandering off a trail or getting caught unprepared in a deadly summer lightening storm. Regardless of circumstances, Alpine Rescue always responds to a call for help. Not once have they lectured hapless tourists, saying, "Well, since you ignored the rules of the wilderness, you'll just have to bear the consequences." Their mission is rescue, and so they pursue every needy hiker, no matter how undeserving.
The central message of the Bible is one of rescue. The apostle Paul says none of us "deserve" God's mercy, and none of us can save ourselves. Like a stranded hiker, all we can do is call for help. Paul says in Romans 3:10, "There is none righteous, no not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God."
The Good News is that, in spite of this, God seeks after us, and He responds to our every plea for help. God is in the rescue business. What do you do when you need spiritual rescue? To whom do you turn? Do you fear you are too bad or too unimportant for God's rescue?
In Psalm 50:15, God our Rescuer tells us, "Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me." God will always answer your prayer. He won't lecture you, and will always help you, because He is in the eternal rescue business.
Happy hiking on your trail of life!
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