From Death to Life

Carl Ruse of the U.S. Air Force arrived at the Yokkaichi-Ishihara Sangyo labor camp in Nagoya, Japan, in September 1944. Captured by the Japanese over two years earlier, Ruse had been starved down to 80 pounds and had lost hope of surviving much longer. But then a fourteen-year-old Japanese boy who worked at the factory where Ruse was laboring began—at the risk of his own life—to smuggle food to the emaciated prisoner of war.

It saved Ruse’s life. A year later, the newly freed Ruse took food rations to the boy’s family as a gift, and the boy gave him a small photo of himself. The memory of this boy’s kindness made Ruse a better person throughout his life; he was devoid of the bitterness that gnawed at the hearts of so many POWs.

In a sense, we humans are all prisoners of war in the great conflict between good and evil. Due to the sad choice of our ancestor Adam, our enemy is able to enslave us, starve us spiritually, and destroy us. “Your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Left to ourselves, we would have no hope.

But Jesus stepped in as the representative of all humanity and was willing to risk His life, and even to die, “that whoever believes in him should not perish” (John 3:16). Through His death and resurrection, we can receive spiritual food, forgiveness, and healing. Through His provision, we are rescued, reconciled to God, and given life that never ends.

Because of Adam’s sin, we’ve inherited the rebellious tendency to turn away from God—the only One who can help us—and are headed for certain disaster. As the prophet Isaiah wrote, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6). But Jesus has the power to help us—if we choose—reverse our self-destructive path, point us in the right direction, and save us.

Apply It:

List three reasons you are thankful that Jesus is your representative.

Dig Deeper:

1 John 2:1, 2; Romans 5:18, 19; 1 Peter 3:18

Key Bible Texts

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:22 KJV)