Many of us remember reading...
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Many of us remember reading about an Air Florida jetliner that crashed into the icy Potomac River in Washington, D.C. in January 1982. There were seventy-nine persons on board the plane, but only five of them survived the crash. These five people owe a great debt to an unknown person referred to by rescuers as "the sixth man." They reported that this man repeatedly gave his lifeline to the five other people floating in the cold water. By the time the rescue team returned for him, he had slipped beneath the water. The helicopter pilot said, "He was a brave and good man. Imagine! He had just survived that horrible crash. The river was ice-cold and each minute brought him closer to death. He could have gone on the first trip but he put everyone else ahead of himself."
This man did not ask each person his name, or race, or occupation, or religion. Nor did he inquire about family status or home address. No doubt they were all quite different in background, but he treated them all the same. They all had one thing in common: each was trying to save his life.
Jesus came to save the lives of all persons regardless of their status in life. And, in this scripture passage, Paul brings forth the same theme. He seeks to identify with all kinds of people -- the Jew, the Gentile, the free, the slave, the weak, the strong, those under the law, and those outside the law. He is trying to confront them with the living Christ, and the differences do not matter.
This man did not ask each person his name, or race, or occupation, or religion. Nor did he inquire about family status or home address. No doubt they were all quite different in background, but he treated them all the same. They all had one thing in common: each was trying to save his life.
Jesus came to save the lives of all persons regardless of their status in life. And, in this scripture passage, Paul brings forth the same theme. He seeks to identify with all kinds of people -- the Jew, the Gentile, the free, the slave, the weak, the strong, those under the law, and those outside the law. He is trying to confront them with the living Christ, and the differences do not matter.
