PROVIDING
A SAFETY MAT

Topics: Church; Cooperation; Ministry; Sacrifice; Spiritual Gifts; Teamwork

References: Acts 2:42–47; Galatians 6:1–2; James 5:19–20; 1 John 3:16–18

Soviet sport parachutist Yuri Belenko realized he was in trouble when he was three thousand feet above the ground. His main chute had malfunctioned, and his reserve chute was “barber poling” around the main, rendering them both useless.

Kicking his feet to slow the spiral caused by the whipping canopies above, Belenko yelled down to fellow jumpers on the ground. His jump buddies immediately sprang into action, grabbed a packing mat, and sprinted toward the impact point. All the way down Belenko yelled and tugged at the static lines in an attempt to clear the tangled chutes. Below, his friends stretched the mat taut and waited.

Belenko plummeted into the canvas at bone-crushing speed, ripping the tarp from his rescuers’ hands and knocking them to the ground. When the dust cleared, Belenko lay gasping for breath, complaining only of a sprained ankle and a few bruises.

His jump buddies were there for Belenko at the moment he needed them most. It’s what God wants his people to do for others in need.

—Bud Sellick, The Wild, Wonderful World of Parachutes and Parachutists (Prentice-Hall, 1981)

PART 15: HOPE AND DESPAIR