Michael Patterson. If you haven't heard his story yet, well he's a hero. Not too
long ago Michael jumped into a rushing creek to save a 4 year old girls life.
When Michael jumped he broke his neck and was paralyzed on impact. Just a
couple weeks before that Michael saved another man’s life from a truck that had
burst into flames. Michael made these acts under the thought "Do unto
others, as you would have them do unto you."
When I heard his story, I thought to myself "Of course I
would jump in to save someone's life!" But we need to truly ask
ourselves... would we? Would you risk your life to save someone else's? Or
would you stand on the sidelines screaming for help while a 4 year old girl is
drowning? Yes the water is rough, but what if it was you? Wouldn't you want
someone to jump in and save you?
I'm lucky. I've been saved twice from water accidents. Once when I
was a young girl in swim lessons and decided to go to the deep end. I couldn't
swim, and a man jumped in and saved me. The second when I was 18 on a rafting
trip I was thrown from my raft into rough waters, and a friend saved me. But that’s
not why I'm lucky. Those stories have nothing to do with luck. I'm lucky by a
third saving I've encountered. I was saved, and the end result was another man
died.
I was saved from having to face sin alone, I was saved from an
eternity spent in hell, I was saved from death, and I was saved from having to
live a life with no forgiveness. Now if you don't know the man I am referring
to his name is Jesus. He gave up everything for me and he went through the
worst death imaginable to save me. He lived a life doing things for others, so
that hopefully in return we would turn and do unto others as we would have them
do unto us.
Our lives are not meant to be spent selfishly. Our lives are meant
to be lived so others can know Jesus through us. We are meant to live doing for
others, and not for ourselves. Jesus didn't just die for me, but he gave up his
life for all human beings. How can you not respect that? He jumped in front a
bullet for you. He pushed you out of the way so that car wouldn't hit you. He
pulled you from a burning fire. He pulled you from rushing waters. He died so your
sin wouldn't kill you.
He is my hero. He did it for me. He sacrificed everything.
How could I not let everyone know that I am alive because of him, and that I am
who I am because of him?
Michael Patterson believes in a world that could be different if
we were to "do unto others as we would have them do unto us." Michael
Patterson is also now lying in a hospital paralyzed, with no insurance because
he decided to jump and save a girl’s life. What do we live for if it’s not to
save others?
How selfish are we if we don't live like our hero? Jesus didn't
die so we could merely live. Jesus died to save us, so we could save
others.
