Articles

Needing a Hand

“The gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.”
(Romans 1:16)

Do we see how desperate we are for salvation?

And do we see how well positioned God is to provide it?

Niagara Falls is a formidable spectacle. The volume of water surging over its 165 foot high precipice is greater than that of any other waterfall on earth, and it creates unprecedented power, sending almost as much spray skyward as it originally sent downward into the abyss.

On the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, where Horseshoe Falls is located, only a few guard-rails separate tourists from the torrent. As a young teen, I was able to creep right up to the edge of the surging river and put my toes in the water, only meters upstream from the explosive cataract.

It caused me to shudder: ‘One little slip and I’m finished!’

Since then, I have dreamed about my early brush with oblivion atop Niagara Falls. Most of the time, however, the nightmare is resolved in favor of a miraculous ending.

Soon after I slip into the river, some 200 meters above the falls, I dream of a man who, seeingmy frenetic struggle against the deadly current, climbs out onto a tree limb and, with one hand stretched out to me, calls with a shout, ‘Give me your hand!’

It’s a moment of decision. Will I entrust this would-be savior with my life?

Sensing my hesitation, the man urgently revises the call. No longer demanding, ‘Give me your hand!’ he makes the offer, ‘Take my hand!’

Something similar happens with God.

Our sin puts us in imminent peril, hurtling towards the eternal chasm. Only one thing can save us – God himself. And through his Son, he positions himself to do so, reaching out from a limb overhanging our doomed path.

From the tree of Golgotha, he cries, ‘Give me your hand!’

Some of us hesitate. We’ve never given ourselves to anyone. Is this savior worthy of our trust? Perhaps we should simply stay the course!

Undeterred by our insolence, God appears to humble himself. He revises the offer, ‘Take my hand!’

It’s our only hope of salvation. And it could hardly be a more wonderful hope.

The divine hand – the bloodstained hand – is the power of God for salvation to all who believe.