Jesus did not come to be served but to serve and lay down His life as a ransom for many.  As the Father sent Him, so Jesus sends us—not to be content with our own salvation but to charge into the face of personal danger that others might have life.

As Jesus hung on the cross, the religious people of His day mocked Him and taunted Him saying, "Save yourself."  But Jesus was not on earth to save Himself; He was here to save others.  How much of our Christian life is about our own salvation, our own spiritual benefits (cd's, books, sermons, conferences) and how much do we emulate the life of Christ in self-sacrifice on behalf of others?

The rescue teams that ran into the burning towers in New York willingly put their lives in danger for the sake of others.  With very little thought of their own well being, they knew that thousands were in danger and that they were the ones to guide people to safety.  Their heroic sacrifice reminds us of what our life is to be.  We are called to be more than passive observers; rather, we are to be active and agressive rescuers of our brothers and sisters who are in danger and lost apart from Jesus.

Paul, the pioneer missionary of the first century, understood that "we bear death in our bodies that you might have life."  What death are you bearing that the unreached of our world would have life?

Watching television at a friend's house in Taiwan, I sat stunned and horrified, as people jumped to their deaths.  As the towers began to collapse, I wanted so desperately to stop it... we all wanted it to stop.  Our hearts broke, as we watched over 3,000 people die at the hands of terrorists.  Every day among the unreached, over 50,000 people die.  They are destroyed by our enemy, the devil, who holds them hostage in prisons of darkness.  Jesus, when He looks upon those who still have never heard His name and of his love, sees the equivilant of 14 towers collapsing every day.  He watches them with the same horror that we watched New York.  This is why He begs us not to consider this rescue casually, but to urgently give all we have for their salvation.

Missionaries, like those firemen, know their job—to rush into high strongholds filled with thousands of precious people who will die under the terror of Satan and his forces, unless we help them escape.  These are the ones who have heard the command of Jesus to go into all the world and rescue the perishing, considering OTHERS more important than saving themselves. Will you respond by selflessly pouring out your life on behalf of others?  Will you pray that those who are groping in darkness will see Jesus the great Light?  Will you give, sacrificing some of your own pleasures, that they might have life?

Will you go rush into their "buildings" that they might know the way of escape?  When your life is concluded, may it have the same aroma of Christ about it—the aroma that the Salvation Army officers had.  May your cry be "OTHERS!"  We are sending gunships where the Good News is not known.  Helicopters are ferrying soldiers where salvation has never been.  It does not seem right that Coca-Cola is more recognized than the Cross of Christ; that Michael Jordan is more famous than Master Jesus.  This Christmas the world knew all about tinsel and baubles but it has no access to Testaments and Bibles.  We are embarrassed that Muslims are more familiar with cruise missles than our saving Christ's message; materialism but not the One who matters most; the Red Cross but not the old rugged cross; mercenaries not our missionaries; Generals but not the Gospel; special forces but not God's Army.  The Church is resting, when we need to be repenting.  Our King is calling us to take His fame to the ends of the earth.  Will the armies of Uncle Sam put us to shame in obedience and sacrifice?

John Zumwalt