To all my Muslim friends around the world, my wife and I are praying for you!
We pray that you would be blessed by God this month – that He would be generous to you with more and more revelation of who He is, and who Jesus is.
We pray for you to have dreams and visions of Jesus.
We pray for your safety and your family’s safety as well.
God bless you.
We love you!
All my Muslim friends say something that may surprise my Christian readers: they all say that they love Jesus. Personally, I think this can result in something beautiful. Instead of arguing over who owns Jesus, I think that the topic of loving Jesus can create a tremendous conversation that Muslims and Christians can engage in. We can ask each other the questions:
“Why do you love Jesus?”
“What is it about him that you love?”
I love my wife – not just because she is my wife – but because of specific attributes that she has. She is faithful, persevering, honest, supportive, kind, wise, discerning, deep, thoughtful, caring, an excellent listener and – on the lighter side – she watches football and basketball with me (I could list many more positive traits)!
In the same way, I love Jesus because of specific attributes that he displayed when he walked the land of Palestine over 2000 years ago. He was the epitome of love, honesty, justice, wisdom, self-control, courage, mercy, grace, patience, righteous anger, and faithfulness to God (again, I could continue).
There is part of a story of Jesus that moves me deeply but is little known by many. It typifies one of the many reasons why I love him. It happened at the beginning of the time Christians around the world are celebrating right now called “Holy Week.” The event I am referring to happened on what is traditionally called “Palm Sunday” – the day that Jesus approached Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives and was wildly celebrated by the masses as the long-promised, long-awaited messiah: the savior of the Jews. As Jesus descended that slope toward the city, most people were delirious with joy, a few people were angry (the jealous religious leaders), and one person – Jesus – wept. The Gospels – or Injeel – say that “as he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it” (Luke 19:41).
In that moment, Jesus saw so clearly that the people of Jerusalem would reject him and the salvation he came to bring. But it was not any kind of personal rejection that made him weep. He had far too much inner strength and understanding of his identity for that. No, he saw the terrible agony and future destruction that would come to the people of Jerusalem due to their rejection of him and his mission and that brought him to tears.
I love Jesus because out of his compassion he wept for people:
Lost people.
Doomed people.
Even wicked people who would reject him and curse him and hate him.
What kind of love was this?
While we as Christians and Muslims disagree on how Jesus got to Paradise (a topic for another day), we all agree that he is there. I wonder if in Paradise right now, Jesus is looking over our world and weeping for people who are headed for the unspeakable wrath of God’s final judgment – just as he wept on that day in Palestine 2000 years ago. . .
Does Jesus still weep?
(Postscript: dear friends, I write this blog for only one reason. I want as many people as possible to be in Paradise! Jesus paid the price for you to be there. He gave up everything – his very life – for you. No amount of good deeds can pay for your many sins. No amount of praying, fasting, giving, or going can erase the stain of your bad deeds. But, one thing can. The sacrifice of Jesus. If you want to talk about this, please reply to this blog post or send me a private message at InTheHarvest@gmail.com. We can talk together with mutual respect, honesty, and love.)
Dear Muslim Readers,
Some of you may be asking the questions,
– “Are you trying to convert Muslims into “Christians” through this blog?”
– “Are you trying to convert me?”
Now those are big questions. No, those are HUGE questions and very legitimate ones!
Let me answer your questions beginning with a question of my own:
What does the word “Christian” mean to you as a Muslim?
I know that to some Muslims around the world, the words “Christian” or “Christianity” can mean a lot of things. Things such as words from the list below:
* The Crusades
* Imperialism
* Colonialism
* Zionism
* Hollywood
* Immorality
* Violence
* Abortion
* Alcohol
* Drugs
* American foreign policy
* Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
* American television preachers who blindly and unconditionally support Israel at the expense of the Palestinians.
Back to the original question: “Am I trying to convert Muslims into “Christians”? If you define “Christian” and “Christianity” by the list above, the answer is an emphatic and unequivocal “NO!”
What I do want for you – my Muslim reader – is what I want for everyone (I truly mean EVERYONE). I want every person walking on the earth to follow Jesus – to become a “Jesus-follower”. Much more importantly, that is what Jesus wants. That is what he said over and over as he walked the earth:
Let me make a strong statement to you – my Muslim readers – here:
I don’t see anywhere in the words of Jesus in the Injeel – in the New Testament of the Bible – that you have to be or become a “Christian” (as defined by the list above – Hollywood, immorality, violence, Zionism, etc.) to go to Heaven (Paradise).
What I do see very clearly and very strongly in Jesus’ words is that you have to follow him. You have to give him your life – completely, unreservedly, wholeheartedly. You have to love him more than any person, goal, or dream.
You have to become a “Jesus-follower.”
You have to believe in him (his uniqueness) and his sacrifice for your sins (his work on your behalf).
Jesus said:
“. . .unless you believe that I Am who I claim to be, you will die in your sins.” (John 8:24 in the Injeel)
“I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.” (John 10:9 in the Injeel)
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11 in the Injeel)
“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” (John 11:25-26 in the Injeel)
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6 in the Injeel)
I believe with all my heart that your relationship with Jesus and what you believe about him will determine your eternal destiny.
I just want for you what I want for myself. What I want for everyone.
I just want you to follow Jesus so you can be changed from the inside out by Jesus himself living in you. This is so different from trying to change yourself from the outside in by trying to perfectly obey endless rules and rituals (something none of us can do).
I want you to follow Jesus and believe in his sacrificial death so you can be forgiven of all your sins.
So you won’t have to fear Hellfire.
So you can live with Jesus forever in Heaven.
It’s all about Jesus.
Just. . .following. . .Jesus – the one who loves you so much that he died for you.
It’s worth any price to follow someone who loves you that much.
Do you have questions? Comments? Please respond here or send me a private email at InTheHarvest@gmail.com.
Because my wife and I often travel to churches around the US to help Christians gain God’s great heart for Muslims, we are often asked the question:
“Do they have Sharia Law in Dearborn, Michigan?”
Surely there are some Arab Muslim families – Lebanese, Iraqi, or Yemeni – that might practice some form of Sharia in Dearborn. Conflict resolution (to keep issues out of court) might be a good example. But is Sharia the official law of the city? Not at all.
We love Dearborn, Michigan – the people, the culture, and of course, the food!
Being in Dearborn makes us feel like we are back in the Middle East. In Jordan. Or Lebanon. Or Palestine. Places where we feel so comfortable.
In Dearborn, we can go to a park in the summer and speak for hours with people from all over the Middle East. We can talk freely about our faiths and even pray together without fear of any kind of religious police shutting us down. (I have been blacklisted from one Middle Eastern country, so I know about being “shut down”)
In Dearborn, we can visit a mosque almost anytime and be kindly received by the people there. I have walked into mosques all over the country – including the two largest mosques in Dearborn – and had men take the initiative to walk up to me, shake hands, and extend a kind greeting.
In Dearborn, we have freedom to go door-to-door and give out our materials about the similarities and differences between the Qur’an and the Injil. Sometimes we have been invited into homes for delicious Middle Eastern food, along with tea or coffee.
In Dearborn, we have freedom to go to any Muslim neighborhood and sing Christmas carols (songs that celebrate the miraculous birth of Jesus – Isa al Masih) as we walk down street after street. What a joy to visit Muslim homes and businesses in Dearborn and sing Christmas carols for over 11 years now! The welcome we receive from Muslims is quite often so warm and hospitable.
So. . .do they have Sharia Law in Dearborn, Michigan?
Well, if they do, it hasn’t stopped us from Christmas caroling. . .and so much more.
People of Dearborn – we love you!!!
Dear Muslim friends,
I think questions that begin with “why” can be hard to answer but they are so important. They can really help us to think.
I have a few questions for you today but. . .I want you to know that I am attempting to ask them with sincere respect and kindness. Here they are:
“Why are you. . .a Muslim?”
“Why are you a Muslim and not. . .something else?”
“Why aren’t you a believer in Shintoism, Jainism, Confusianism, Bahaism, Judaism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Hinduism, or Christianity?” (others of the 10 largest or most powerful religions in the world)
“Are you a Muslim because. . . you were ‘born’ a Muslim?”
“Are you a Muslim because. . . it is part of your culture?”
“Are you a Muslim because. . . you were born and grew up in a Muslim country?”
“Are you a Muslim because. . . your parents and grandparents and great grandparents before you were Muslim?”
“Are you a Muslim because. . . you made a careful search of the religions of the world – at least the major ones – and decided that Islam was the only religion that contained absolute truth?”
“Are you a Muslim by choice? Your. . .own. . .personal. . .choice?”
Please allow me to share some things about my life as a follower of Jesus.
I am not a follower of Jesus because. . . I was “born” that way.
(no one is “born” a follower of Jesus)
I am not a follower of Jesus because. . . it is part of my culture.
(my culture is not very much like Jesus for the most part)
I am not a follower of Jesus because. . . I was born and grew up in a country that follows Jesus.
(the vast majority of people in America are not real followers of Jesus)
I am not a follower of Jesus. . . because my parents and grandparents and great grandparents before me loved and obeyed and followed Jesus.
(who my parents or grandparents were could not make me a Jesus follower)
I am a follower of Jesus because. . .when I was in college, I made a careful search of the religions of the world, at least the major ones, in a search for absolute truth. I easily observed that all the major religions of the world – except following Jesus – have the same way to Paradise/Heaven/Jannah/Nirvana etc. That way is “works,” specifically, “good” works. In this way of thinking, if we humans can just do enough good things, keep enough religious rules, obey enough spiritual leaders, then – we might – be able to go to an eternal place of bliss (whatever the name). But the nagging question is always this:
I am a follower of Jesus because. . .as I looked at the major religions of the world as a young college student, it was easy to see that following Jesus was different. Absolutely unique. It became more and more clear to me that following Him was not about being good enough or obeying enough rules. It was about grace. Undeserved kindness and love. It was more about what Jesus did (dying for my sins) than what I do (trying to be good enough) to make it to Heaven. It was not about being saved by my good works but about being rescued from my sins. It was about being saved. . .by grace.
I am a follower of Jesus because. . .I made a choice. A choice to follow Him instead of any other religion or religious figure. Jesus is different. Absolutely unique. No one else sacrificed themself for my sins. No one else loves me that much. No one else will never leave me. No one else loves me no matter how much I do or don’t do in keeping religious rules. There is no one like Jesus.
My dear Muslim friends, why am I a follower of Jesus? Because by His grace, I made a choice.
I chose Jesus. . .
Are you a Muslim by choice? Your. . .own. . .personal. . .choice?
Dear Muslim readers,
As a follower of Jesus, my Muslim friends often say, “You Christians think you can stick your sins on Jesus, and then sin freely. You think you can do whatever you want if you are forgiven. Isn’t that true?”
I answer, “Astaghfirullah! (an Arabic expression of disapproval or shame, meaning “God forgive me”) God forbid! No! We love God so much for what He has done for us through Jesus, that we desire to be free from sin to honor Him!”
As the Bible says, “Should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not!” (Romans 6:1-2). Forgiveness from God should lead toward a growing purity and holy life in the one forgiven.
In this blog post, let me share more with you about how I believe the Bible itself answers this very important question about a person being forgiven, but then doing whatever they want. I have 6 points:
#1 – Many people who call themselves “Christians” are simply not followers of Jesus. They have not truly repented. If they had, there would be true change in their lives: change in their attitudes, thoughts, words, and actions. The Bible says you become a “new creation” – a new person – when you repent of your sins, receive his gift of forgiveness, invite Jesus to take over control of your life, and commit yourself to following him.
2 Corinthians 5:17 – “anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new creation (a new person). The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”
Matthew 7:16 – “You will know them by their fruits (how they act).”
1 John 1:6 – “If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.”
1 John 2:3,4 – “We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, ‘I know him,’ but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”
#2 – When you have genuinely accepted Jesus as the Savior of your sins, you want to live for him, obey him, follow him. Your heart is filled with gratitude which overflows into a desire to not do “whatever you want,” but to do “whatever He wants.” You just want to please Him and live for Him!
2 Corinthians 5:9 – “we make it our goal to please him.”
2 Corinthians 5:15 – “And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”
#3 – The primary motive in avoiding sin as a follower of Jesus is not fear of hell but love for Jesus and for Almighty God.
John 14:15 – “If you love me, you will obey what I command.”
2 Corinthians 5:14 – “Christ’s love compels us.”
1 John 4:19 – “We love Him because He first loved us.”
#4 – While fear of hell is not a Jesus follower’s primary motive for pure and righteous living, a healthy and reverential fear of appearing before God the perfect Judge after death (to judge one’s works, not his/her sins) is a solid Biblical motivator.
1 Peter 1:17 – “And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time as ‘foreigners in the land.'”
1 John 2:28 – “And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.”
#5 – When a person commits their life to Jesus and begins to follow him, there is a change in the heart. The Bible actually says you gain a “new heart.” There actually takes place something like a spiritual “heart transplant!”
Ezekiel 36:26 – “I will give you a new heart.”
#6 – After a person becomes “born again,” a new power (grace) comes into their lives – a new power to resist sin.
Titus 2:11, 12 – “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.”
When Jesus comes into your heart following true repentance, there is true change. Jesus himself called it being “born again” (The Holy Injeel, The Gospel According To John 3:3). For some people, this change is virtually overnight. They stop swearing, gossiping, envying, boasting, lying, rebelling against parents, stealing, drinking, using drugs, and engaging in immorality right away. In essence, they stop living for themselves and begin living for the Lord. This gives them new joy, new freedom, new purpose. They feel alive for the first time in their lives.
For others, the change is slow but sure – like a butterfly coming out of a cacoon. Old sinful habits like those just mentioned die hard, but they do eventually die for one who sincerely follows Jesus. It takes time. Years. And it is a battle – a real and constant battle! A battle against 3 adversaries: this world’s anti-God system, our old desires which creep back in, and our adversary the devil.
To all my Muslim friends, please see from these Biblical truths that we who are really followers of Jesus can’t just “do whatever we want” after we receive the gift of forgiveness. This would go against everything we believe!
Do followers of Jesus still sin? Yes, we do. Of course. We fail every day.
But generally speaking, the forgiveness we have experienced actually motivates us to forsake (abandon, desert, leave, turn one’s back on) sin and live for God out of love and gratitude for what He has done for us.
As always, I love you, my Muslim friends!
Dear Muslim & Christian Friends,
I have been thinking a lot about this question: “What is freedom of religion?”
I mean, what does it really mean?
Is it freedom granted by the government where you live to practice your religion (as long as it does not harm others)?
Is it freedom for mosques to built in Europe and the United States but also churches to be built in Saudi Arabia?
Is it freedom to believe differently than your family, friends, or even your religious leaders?
Is it freedom for a Christian to study Islam, to read the Qur’an, to visit a mosque – in a search for truth?
Is it freedom for a Muslim to study Christianity, to read the Bible, to visit a church – in a search for truth?
Is it freedom for a Muslim to engage in dawa with a Christian or a Christian to engage in evangelism with a Muslim (as long as there is no pressure but rather sincere dialogue based on mutual respect, love, and honesty)?
Here is the really BIG question: is freedom of religion the freedom to choose your religion. . .to even change your religion?
Let’s take it a step further.
Should you have the right to choose. . .or to change. . .your religion without suffering negative or harmful repercussions from:
your family
your friends
your community
your government
your religious leaders
your mosque or church?
Freedom: no rejection, hatred, arrests, interrogation, torture, or imprisonment because of your choice or change in what you believe and practice.
Freedom: no one saying, “What?! You have become a ______________? You are not my son/daughter, wife/husband, brother/sister any more! You have shamed us. You must leave. Don’t ever come back!”
Freedom: no loss of property, job, education, spouse, children, personal freedoms or even. . .your life. . .because of your choice of what faith to follow.
This is one of my great passions for all people: freedom of religion.
Freedom to choose. . .freedom to change.
Everywhere. For every person.
My Muslim & Christian friends, what do you think about this kind of freedom – freedom of thought, freedom of conscience, and even freedom of religion?
Shouldn’t everyone have these rights? These freedoms? These choices?
In the USA. . .or in Uzbekistan. In England. . .or in Egypt. In Australia. . .or in Algeria. In Iceland. . .or in Iran.
You may not feel free on the outside to choose. . .or to change. But God has given you these rights in your heart.
It’s up to you. . .
(edited from a post on Jan 8, 2015)
Today is Father’s Day and I rejoice that by the grace of God, I am the father of 3 incredible sons and “Pops” to 9 incredible grandchildren! But like too many kids today, I grew up without a father. In my case, my parents divorced before I was born. When my mother found out she was pregnant with me, she was living in California and knew that the marriage was breaking up. Sadly for her, my father had a problem with alcohol and was also unfaithful to his wedding vows. In her despondency — being pregnant and with her second divorce imminent — my mother walked to the Pacific Ocean with a plan to drown herself. Thankfully, she came to a fence near the beach and decided against such a drastic action. (I am happy for that!) Instead, she moved back to her mother’s farm in western Kansas where I was born in 1955, and where I grew up until my college years.
As I was growing up, I never saw a picture of my father. I had no idea what he looked like (a few years ago I was given the above picture of him from his younger days – a haircut that looks funny now but is reminiscent of the late 1940’s!). He never called so I never heard his voice. He never sent a letter. He provided no child support for my mother. And. . .my mother never spoke of him either.
When I was 13 years old, we went to California on a vacation and made an attempt to see my father. But at the designated time, he never showed up. He was drunk. He could not face us. I think there was a lot of guilt and shame in his life. In fact, after the divorce with my mother, we believe that my father was married and divorced 4 more times (he surely must have broken the hearts of several women and other children from these marriages).
In 1978 – when I was 22 years old and a senior in college – a strange but wonderful thing happened: my father wrote a letter to my mother apologizing for abandoning her, my older sister, and me. And after all those years, he wanted to meet me. Shortly after he sent that letter, I graduated, married my college sweetheart, and moved to California to attend seminary to study for ministry. As circumstances turned out, we lived about an hour from where my father was living. Once again, there was a scheduled meeting for me to meet him. And once again, he never came. This time however, he had a good reason. He was very sick (foreshadowing a deterioration in his health that we would learn more about in the coming months). Weeks later we scheduled another time to meet. This time. . . he came! But what a strange, strange sight: to look out a window and watch a man drive up in a car and see him walking toward you. Not just any man, but your father — a man you have never seen or talked to in your entire life. It was surreal, the kind of thing you see in a movie.
Though I never knew my father as I was growing up, he and I developed a mutually enjoyable friendship in a short period of time, in part because he was astounded that I held nothing against him for abandoning our family (I credit my mother for this. She never spoke evil of him my whole life and she easily could have. Instead, she forgave him– as Jesus said to do.). My father and I had so many things in common. Sadly, the friendship was not long for this world. My father was a severe diabetic. His alcoholism had robbed his body of health. He died at age 49 after getting up one morning and immediately collapsing with a brain hemorrhage.
But before my father died, several significant things happened:
* My wife and I had many conversations with him about Jesus, about sin, about heaven and about hell. About how no one can be good enough to earn heaven but about how all of us truly deserve the horrible alternative. How Jesus came to bridge the great divide – the seemingly uncrossable chasm – between us and the one true and holy God. And about the decision to follow Jesus.
* He came to see us and our brand new firstborn son (that was the last time we ever saw him).
* In our last phone call, he mentioned that some young men had come by his parents’ house where he was living due to his poverty and terrible health. The young men were either Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses and they wanted to share something of their religious persuasion with him. In the last conversation we ever had, my father expressed to me that he told the men these words: “No thanks, boys. I’m going the way of my son’s religion.”
You know what? I believe I will see my father in heaven. Not because he was a “good man.” He wasn’t. Not because he kept a lot of religious rules. He didn’t. How then could a man like him go to Heaven? The same way any of us can:
“. . .to all who believed him (Jesus) and accepted him (Jesus), he (God) gave the right to become children of God. . .” (The Injil, The Gospel of John 1:12, NLT).
On this Father’s Day, a lot of kids who grew up without a dad will feel additional pain. I really feel for them. But I am so blessed to tell you that I am a son to two fathers: a father named Bob who put his faith in Jesus before he died, and a loving God who was my perfect Father as I grew up. (He never abandoned me (see Hebrews 13:5). He was always there: taking care of me, watching over me, protecting me, leading me to Himself. He was truly a “Father to the fatherless” – see Psalm 68:5)
What about you? Are you a son or daughter of God? We are not born that way. We have to make a conscious decision to receive Jesus as the savior we all so desperately need — to put our entire trust in what he accomplished for us by giving his life in our place and taking the punishment for sins that we deserved. We have to give Jesus our lives and commit ourselves to following Him completely. This means turning from our self-centered and sinful ways (this is called “repentance”) and putting Jesus first above every other person or thing in this world (this is called “lordship”). This pleases God.
Don’t be a spiritual orphan any longer. Call on God. He wants to be your Father — a perfect Father.
He truly is. . .a good, good Father.
This is the month of “Memorial Day” in America. On Memorial Day we traditionally remember those who gave their lives so we could live. The story below is a true story of incredible courage, bravery, and ultimate selflessness and sacrifice. Like my last post, it is another story about a “man in the water.”
At one time in my life, I was drowning, as were countless other desperate souls. There was a man who was doing all he could to rescue us. He continually left the safety of his position and took a flotation rescue ring and rope – a life preserver – to drowning men, women, children – people of all ages and races.
At one point, he saw me sinking and took pity on me. He dove into the water with the ring and rope without regard for his own safety (he seemed to abandon every thought of his personal well-being). In his facial expression there was a laser like focus and determination to reach me before I went under for the last time. When he reached me, he offered me the life preserver (the rope extended up and far beyond my view to its source – a source too far away for me to see). I will never forget the feeling that I would not die but live! The indescribable panic and paralyzing fear of death was leaving as I experienced incredible hope!
As I took the ring he offered, I was pulled up and out of that treacherous water. I still can see the look in his eyes – a quiet, strong, without-words-kind-of-look of deep compassion and care. While being pulled from the water, I looked back and saw “the man in the water” – the man who had rescued me, and so many others. All of this effort had created in his body an agonizing fatigue that he fought to overcome. In giving every ounce of physical, emotional, and spiritual energy, he too began to sink in the dark waters. Tragically, there was no one to rescue him! In saving me and so many others, he lost his life. No, he really didn’t lose it. He voluntarily gave it. Sacrificed it. For me, and for all the rest who would take the rescue ring and rope he extended to them.
The twin realizations that I was safe – but that he was dying the horrible death of drowning – was overwhelming. I was filled with both unspeakable joy and inconsolable grief.
I will never forget that day. It was May 28, 1966. I was just a 10 year old boy.
I will never forget that man. His name? Jesus Christ.
This truly is my story. Yes, I have told it as an “allegory” – figurative language. But it accurately depicts what this amazing man, Jesus, did for me. You see, like everyone else, I was sinking, going under, “drowning” in my sins. There was no hope. Like every other man, woman, or child, I could not save myself. My “lungs” were filling up with the treacherous and dark “water” of my sins – pulling me down to a horrible and eternal death.
God loved me – and the whole world – so much that He sent Jesus to offer us the “ring and rope” of salvation – a salvation we cannot earn or merit. Jesus gave his life for each of us so we could live in heaven forever; so each of us could be rescued if we would only put our trust in him and the incredible sacrifice he made for us.
I will forever love Jesus for giving himself up for me. Now I also try to live for him. I try to follow him.
This is my story about “the man in the water” – dying. . .so I could live.
Postscript: I absolutely cherish any and every opportunity to tell others about him and what he did for me – for all of us.
If you want to talk, please email me at InTheHarvest@gmail.com.
I am not a big reader of fiction books. Nothing wrong with them of course, but I have a love for true stories, especially stories of heroism and self-sacrifice on behalf of others. Some years ago, I ran across such a story. It captivated my interest and attention for years, so much so that I have used it as an illustration many times in public speaking engagements. Below are excerpts (all italicized) from the story – a true story – called “The Man In The Water” (written by Roger Rosenblatt, Time Magazine, January 25, 1982). It speaks of the tragic plane crash of Air Florida Flight 90 on January 13, 1982 in Washington D.C. Shortly after the plane took off, it crashed into the 14th Street Bridge – hitting 6 cars and a truck – and then into the icy Potomac River, killing 78 people altogether. As seen in the 4 pictures of this post, photographers and television crews were quickly on the scene, capturing images of the tragic scene.
There were 6 initial survivors of the crash. Rosenblatt writes below of the brave rescue efforts of these people by a helicopter team of pilot, Donald Usher, and paramedic, Gene Windsor – and the heroism of the 6th man – “The Man In The Water.”
———————————
. . .the person most responsible for the emotional impact of the disaster is the one known at first simply as “the man in the water.” (balding, probably in his 50s, an extravagant mustache.) He was seen clinging with five other survivors to the tail section of the airplane.
This man was described by Usher and Windsor as appearing alert and in control. Every time they lowered a lifeline and flotation ring to him, he passed it on to another of the passengers.
“In a mass casualty, you’ll find people like him,” said Windsor. “But I’ve never seen one with that commitment.” When the helicopter came back for him, the man had gone under. His selflessness was one reason the story held national attention; his anonymity another.
Still, he could never have imagined such a capacity in himself. Only minutes before his character was tested, he was sitting in the ordinary plane among the ordinary passengers, dutifully listening to the stewardess telling him to fasten his seat belt and saying something about the “no smoking sign.” So our man relaxed with the others, some of whom would owe their lives to him. Perhaps he started to read, or to doze, or to regret some harsh remark made in the office that morning. Then suddenly he knew that the trip would not be ordinary. Like every other person on that flight, he was desperate to live, which makes his final act so stunning.
For at some moment in the water he must have realized that he would not live if he continued to hand over the rope and ring to others. He had to know it, no matter how gradual the effect of the cold. In his judgment he had no choice. When the helicopter took off with what was to be the last survivor, he watched everything in the world move away from him, and he deliberately let it happen.
Yet there was something else about our man that kept our thoughts on him, and which keeps our thoughts on him still. He was there, in the essential, classic circumstance. Man in nature. The man in the water. For its part, nature cared nothing about the five passengers. Our man, on the other hand, cared totally. So the timeless battle commenced in the Potomac. For as long as that man could last, they went at each other, nature and man; the one making no distinctions of good and evil, acting on no principles, offering no lifelines; the other acting wholly on distinctions, principles, and, one supposes, on faith.
The odd thing is that we do not even really believe that the man in the water lost his fight. . .He could not make ice storms, or freeze the water until it froze the blood. But he could hand life over to a stranger. . .The man in the water pitted himself against an implacable, impersonal enemy; he fought it with charity; and he held it to a standoff. He was the best we can do.
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Isa al Masih – Jesus – said (John 15:13): “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”
As we come to the end of this Memorial Day weekend, we think of many who have given their lives for others. I also remember the “man in the water”: dying. . .so others could live.
I think even more of Isa – Jesus. He was the “man in the water” for all of mankind. He gave his life for all of humanity who were “drowning” in their sins. They were hopeless. Helpless. Jesus died, so we could live.
Would you like to talk about this amazing Prophet – Jesus? Please email me at InTheHarvest@gmail.com.
(Postscript: apparently, the “man in the water” did not know any of the other passengers on the plane personally. His own identity was not even known until some time after the bodies were recovered. The coroner made this discovery: of all the recovered bodies, only one had lungs filled with water. That man was the only person who made it out of the plane but not out of the river. He was Arland Williams Jr., a 46-year-old federal bank examiner.)