God Catches His Children

I want to tell you a true story of a family that went for a hike in the mountains of Washington State. The mother, husband, and her two eldest sons went one way on the rugged mountain trail, and the youngest son, with some other people they were hiking with, went the other way.

As it happens, the youngest son changes his mind and decides to turn around and catch up with his family. On the way back, he came to the edge of a 71 ft. cliff and yelled to his mother, “Hey mom, mom, I am coming down!” His mother heard him, turned her gaze to see him at the top of the cliff next to a small waterfall, and yelled back, “be careful!”

But as he turned away from the cliff, he slipped on the build-up of pine needles on the cliff edge. He slipped off the cliff’s edge catching a branch with his hand at the last moment. But unfortunately, his grip on the branch failed, and he slipped away and free-fell down the side of this cliff. He bounced on the rough, jagged basalt rocks below three times before disappearing behind a log and some brush.

Of course, the mother gasped and screamed aloud at the sight of her child falling. Then, after he fell, she ran to where she had last seen him disappear. As she ran, she prepared herself for the worst. But praise God; He catches His children!

When she came around the corner, she found her son on his hands and knees, in the shallow water, on the edge of the pool, and at the bottom of the falls. His eyes wide open, saying, “Save me, Jesus, save me, Jesus!” Later the father spoke about this moment, “no choir song has been more beautiful to a mother’s ears!” God preserved the life of this young adolescent boy.

Also, by God’s providence, a rescue team was just down the road training for this kind of event. They rescued the boy, putting him on a backboard and carrying him up the rocky slope to the ambulance waiting above. Then took the boy to the hospital, where he was treated and received 21 stitches. Yet amazingly, not one broken bone. As a matter of fact, he was back in school that week with only the use of Advil for the pain.

What a wonderful testimony of how God will catch His children when they fall off the cliff of life into eternity. He loves you so much He has prepared a way to be saved for you. But what you need to realize is that you have offended God. You have broken His Holy Law. Therefore, when you stand before Him after death, you will be judged for everything you have done in word, deed, and thought.

Your sentence will be guilty of lying, stealing, hatred, coveting others’ possessions, lust, murder, and adulatory either in your heart or literally. To top it off, you have not honored God but have worshipped and made many other things in this world more important than worshipping the Lord.

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment;”

Jesus also said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matthew 5:21-22, 27-28

If no one is there to catch you, your destination will be death and Hell. A place of eternal punishment for your crimes, your sins. I do not want you to go there. But praise God; there is hope for your eternal soul!

God loves you so much that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die in your place. He sent Him that He may catch you from falling into Hell. To take the punishment you deserve. In essence, you may fall many times, bringing many injuries to yourself because of your sin. But because of your faith in Jesus Christ, He will save you from eternal death.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because He has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. John 3:16-18

You need to acknowledge and understand the gravity of your present situation. Then, turn from your life of sin and rebellion against God. Repent of your sins and confess them to God and not to men. Then give your life over to Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and live for Him in obedience to His Law.

Jesus lived a perfect life of thirty-three years. He intentionally went to the cross, was beaten, tortured, wiped severally to the point of being unrecognizable, and died for your sins. If that was not enough, Jesus took the entire Wrath of God that you deserve for the multitudes of sins you have committed in your lifetime. He did not stay dead, but three days later, He rose from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. Death had no power over Him because He is God.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

Trust Him by faith, and follow and obey Him in everything. You must put your faith in Him for salvation, believing He has saved you from eternal death.

Please listen to my plea for your life and soul today. Your time on earth is growing short. You don’t know when you will die. You just might be standing on the cliff’s edge at this very moment. You may turn to do something else, slip over the cliff into eternity, and forever endure punishment for your sins. One way or another, someone must pay for your sins; either you will give it all to Jesus, or you must pay for them.

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow, we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit,” yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. James 4:13-14

Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with His angels in the glory of His Father, and then He will repay each person according to what he has done. Matthew 16:24-27

Give yourself to Jesus Christ today before it is too late. Open the Bible, read, study it, and pray to God for forgiveness. Then, receive God’s Holy Spirit, which will change you into a new person. He promises He will give you a new heart and mind so that you no longer desire those sinful ways and behaviors. Instead, you will desire what is good and pleasing to the Lord.

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:3-8

Read the Bible starting in the book of John and the other three first books of the New Testament. God will lead, guide, and direct your step. He will give you a new outlook on life. He will give you a job, a purpose to seek, and to save the lost who may also be standing at the cliff edge of eternity.

Then one day, when you go over that cliff, though the fall may be painful, He will catch and preserve you because of His promise and great love for you. He and all His angels will greet you in heaven on that day. With great celebration and rewards, you will enjoy everlasting joy and happiness forever. All because of the great love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ.