Chicago Fire is a television show based on the everyday rescues that firemen and paramedics provide on any given shift.  These firemen run into fires while others run out.  Paramedics wait on the outside to help the injured stay alive until they can transport them to the hospital to be treated by medical professionals.  Firefighters are men and women who are typically first on the scene of traffic collisions, structure fires, or accidents on the workplace or in homes. 

Yesterday’s episode gripped my heart.  A little boy was trapped in a high-rise apartment where a fire was raging on his floor and three floors above him.  One fireman figured out where he was and went to him immediately, fully equipped, to rescue him.  The rescue was not what the boy expected.  After the fireman accessed the situation, he told him, “We are going to do something that you can tell your friends about later.”  The boy looked up at him with complete terror in his eyes.  “Just trust me, I know how to save us.”  The boy just looked at him with scared, wondering eyes.  The firefighter assured him;

“I want you to get a grip, hold on to me and don’t let go.  That’s your job.  My job will be to hold on to this rope that will get us both out of this fire.  Close your eyes if you must, but don’t let go of me.” 

The boy and the fireman were saved by a rope anchored to a unmovable object in the floor and extended out the window—of the twentieth floor.  The fireman lowered himself and the boy to the floor below them and crashed through the window of an apartment below them.  Other firefighters met him there to help complete the rescue. 

It was crucial for the boy to get a grip and hold on tight to his Resucer.

Hebrews 2, The Message

^1-4 It’s crucial that we keep a firm grip on what we’ve heard so that we don’t drift off. If the old message delivered by the angels was valid and nobody got away with anything, do you think we can risk neglecting this latest message, this magnificent salvation? First of all, it was delivered in person by the Master, then accurately passed on to us by those who heard it from him. All the while God was validating it with gifts through the Holy Spirit, all sorts of signs and miracles, as he saw fit.

The Salvation Pioneer

^5-9 God didn’t put angels in charge of this business of salvation that we’re dealing with here. It says in Scripture,

What is man and woman that you bother with them;
    why take a second look their way?
You made them not quite as high as angels,
    bright with Eden’s dawn light;
Then you put them in charge
    of your entire handcrafted world.

When God put them in charge of everything, nothing was excluded. But we don’t see it yet, don’t see everything under human jurisdiction. What we do see is Jesus, made “not quite as high as angels,” and then, through the experience of death, crowned so much higher than any angel, with a glory “bright with Eden’s dawn light.” In that death, by God’s grace, he fully experienced death in every person’s place.

^10-13 It makes good sense that the God who got everything started and keeps everything going now completes the work by making the Salvation Pioneer perfect through suffering as he leads all these people to glory. Since the One who saves and those who are saved have a common origin, Jesus doesn’t hesitate to treat them as family, saying,

I’ll tell my good friends, my brothers and sisters, all I know
    about you;
I’ll join them in worship and praise to you.

Again, he puts himself in the same family circle when he says,

Even I live by placing my trust in God.

And yet again,

I’m here with the children God gave me.

^14-15 Since the children are made of flesh and blood, it’s logical that the Savior took on flesh and blood in order to rescue them by his death. By embracing death, taking it into himself, he destroyed the Devil’s hold on death and freed all who cower through life, scared to death of death.

^16-18 It’s obvious, of course, that he didn’t go to all this trouble for angels. It was for people like us, children of Abraham. That’s why he had to enter into every detail of human life. Then, when he came before God as high priest to get rid of the people’s sins, he would have already experienced it all himself—all the pain, all the testing—and would be able to help where help was needed.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

We are caught up in fiery situations but challenge our faith daily.  And we’ve got questions!

Who are we holding onto as we walk through life stuff that is beyond our control? 

Who is our Rescuer that not only saves us from hell’s fires of death forever but provides a life full of meaning and significance and leads to eternal life? 

But the most important question to ask ourselves is—

Do we really believe what God says about Himself and His Son to be really real? This needs to be the first question we asked ourselves when faced with troubles and sorrow from circumstances that overwhelm us. 

Who do we trust completely to walk us through the trouble—even if the rescue is not what we expected?

God went to a lot of trouble to save us.  Jesus went to hell and back again to redeem us from our sins.  Our job is to get a grip, hold on to God through Jesus, our solid rock and foundation—and don’t let go!

Be assured of this—Jesus will not let go of you!  

Lord,

Thank you for saving us and teaching us not to let go when troubles come but to get a grip and hang onto our faith that attaches us to you forever.  Help us to point others to you, the Rescuer of our souls. Thank you for saving my soul and making me whole daily.  Thank you for peace that comes by trusting that you know what you are doing!

In Jesus Name, Amen