Whatever It Took

Three of us were sitting in the living room of their little home out in the country.  The husband was asleep in his recliner.  And the wife was talking with me.  A time or two I glanced over at the poodle that was asleep in her husbands lap.  The wife noticed me looking at it and she said, "That dog really isn't supposed to be here."  Then she proceeded to tell me, "A few years ago, we had another dog.  She got pregnant.  But she also had health problems.  So one day she crawled up under the house.  One of my sons kept a close eye on her.  Then, one day, she died.  We knew that she was pregnant and something had to be done or we'd lose the puppy she was carrying.  My son quickly pulled the dead dog out from under the house.  Then he took his pocket knife and opened up her stomach.  He pulled out the unborn puppy, quickly wiped it as clean as he could, and he did CPR on it.  That dog started breathing and he lived!  This dog, on my husband's lap, is that unborn puppy which my son saved." 

That story blew me away.  What an inspiration her son was.  He did whatever it took to save that little unborn puppy who was unable to save himself.

That has me thinking about our God.  He did whatever it took to save us.  We were born with a sin problem.  Because of this sin problem, we were guilty and condemned. Also, we were bound for a hopeless eternity in Hell.  Just as that little puppy was stuck inside of his dead mother, we were stuck inside of sin.  But God, in all of His goodness, didn't leave us in that position. 

Here's what He did about it:  God sent His Son, Jesus, down here to Earth.  He was born in Bethlehem to a young lady named Mary.  Then, a little over 30 years later, God sacrificed His Son on a cross.  Why?  God allowed His own Son to suffer, bleed, and die, so that our sins could be forgiven and our souls could be saved.  In a radical series of events, our loving God did what was necessary to rescue us.  And because of this, our lives have been changed for the better.

Thanks be to our God.  He did whatever it took to save you and me.  What an awesome expression of love it was!! 

I'm pretty impressed with what the young man did to save the puppy.  But I'm far more blown away by what God did to save us.  By all means necessary, He got the job done.  Let's thank Him for doing whatever it took.  And let's honor Him with our lives as long as we are on this Earth.  What an awesome God He is!!