有幾位朋友在英吉利海峽划船，同時又期盼著不會碰到天氣預報所說的暴風雨。但風勢逐漸增強，海浪越發洶湧，嚴重威脅船隻的安全，他們只好透過無線電向皇家國家救生艇協會求救。在焦急不安地等待一段時間之後，他們看到遠方的救難人員，知道很快就能脫離險境，才大大地鬆了一口氣。後來我朋友回想這事，滿心感恩地說：「無論人們是否無視海洋規則，皇家國家救生艇協會都會前來救援。」

當他講述這件事的時候，讓我聯想到耶穌如何完成上帝託付的搜救使命。祂來到世上成為人，像普通人一樣生活。當我們因犯罪和悖逆而與上帝隔絕時，耶穌藉著祂的死和復活實現了拯救全人類的計劃。保羅在寫給加拉太教會的信中，強調這個真理：「主耶穌基督……為我們的罪捨己，要救我們脫離這罪惡的世代」（加拉太書1章3-4節）。保羅提醒加拉太信徒，因著耶穌的死，使他們蒙受恩典而得到新生命，所以他們應當天天榮耀上帝。

我們的救主耶穌，為了拯救我們這些迷失的人而甘願受死。因祂所做的犧牲，我們能在上帝的國度裡享受永恆的生命。為了向上帝表達感恩，我們可以與周遭的人分享拯救生命的福音。

Some friends went boating in the English Channel, hoping the forecast for stormy weather would change. But the winds rose, and the waves became choppy, threatening the safety of their vessel, so they radioed for help to the RNLI (the Royal National Lifeboat Institution). After some tense moments, they spotted their rescuers in the distance and realized with relief they’d soon be safe. As my friend reflected gratefully afterward, “Whether or not people ignore the rules of the sea, the RNLI still comes to the rescue.”

As he recounted the story, I thought about how Jesus leads God’s search-and-rescue mission. He came to earth to become a man, living as one of us. Through His death and resurrection, He provided us with a rescue plan when our sin and disobedience separated us from God. This truth is emphasized by Paul, when writing to the church at Galatia: “The Lord Jesus Christ . . . gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age” (Galatians 1:3-4). Paul reminded the Galatians of the gift of new life they received through Jesus’ death so that they would honor God day by day.

Jesus, our rescuer, willingly died to save us from being lost. Because He did, we have life in the kingdom of God, and in gratitude we can share the life-saving news with those in our community.