Jim Mann
“For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6).
I was 18 and in my senior year of high school. It was Oct. 14, 1987, when 18-month-old Jessica McClure fell into a well at her aunt’s house in Midland, Texas. Americans were glued to the TV. (Kids: Watching news shows and reading things were how we knew what was happening in the world back before the Internet.)
TV crews followed every move made by the rescuers trying to save “Baby Jessica.” One guy they were planning to send down the well could actually pop his shoulders out of joint! It was like a three-ring circus. They worked tirelessly and heroically for 56 hours before finally rescuing “America’s Baby.” Jessica had been saved!
Now imagine hearing this alternate version of the story: Baby Jessica, with heroic grit and tenacity, clawed and dragged her tiny, 18-month-old baby body up the 22-foot sheer wall of the well she had fallen into and saved herself! America’s Baby—a true American hero!
Of course, it’s ridiculous! She was helpless to save herself. She was completely powerless.
I tell that story because no less was true about us when we were lost in our sin. We had the power to save ourselves, much like a baby stuck in a well. She needed outside help, and so did we!
Thank God, even though we were helpless, Jesus came to save us. That is grace. That is the incarnation. That is Christmas.
See you in church!
Jim Mann, Ph.D., pastors New Life Church at Robson Ranch. This interdenominational church meets at the Robson clubhouse on Sunday mornings at 8:30 a.m. and online at 10 a.m. Visit www.newlifedenton.org for more information or visit his blog at www.drjimmann.com.