“Greater love has no man than this that he lay down his life for his friends.”1
Gregory Robertson, a parachute safety and training adviser and a veteran of several hundred parachute jumps, followed six other sky divers out of a plane two miles above the ground.
At 1¾ miles the six attempted to link hands. One of the divers, Debbie Williams, accidentally collided with one of the other skydivers and knocked herself unconscious. Seeing her plight, Robertson tucked his arms to his sides and, using his shoulders to steer himself, went after Debbie. Plunging downward at 200 miles per hour, he was able to catch her. Maneuvering her into a sitting position, Robertson yanked her rip cord. They were at 2,700 feet! At 2,000 feet he opened his own chute. Ten seconds later he would have slammed into the ground.
As Jesus said, there is no greater love than someone being willing to give or even risk his or her own life to save another’s. But God’s love for us is even greater. As the Bible says, “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”2
Suggested prayer: “Dear God, because You loved me enough to die for me, help me love You enough to live for You every day for the rest of my life. Please use me to be a vital part of what You are doing in the world today to save those who are plummeting toward eternal death without Christ. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’s name, amen.”
1. John 15:13.
2. Romans 5:7-8 (NIV)
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