The story was reported of a mother’s sacrifice during the Japan earthquake.
After the earthquake had subsided and the rescuers reached the ruins of a young woman’s house, they saw her dead body through the cracks. But her pose seemed somehow strange, for she knelt on her knees like a person who was worshiping; her body was leaning forward, and her two hands were supporting an object.
With great difficulty the leader of the rescue team put his hand through a narrow gap in the wall to reach the woman’s body. He hoped that this woman would be still alive. However, her cold, stiff body told him that she had passed away for sure. The collapsed house had crushed her back and her head.
The team left this house and moved on to search for life in the next collapsed building. But for some strange reason the team leader was driven by a compelling force to go back to the ruined house of the dead woman. Again, he knelt down, wriggled his hand in through the narrow cracks to search the little space under the dead body. Suddenly, he screamed with excitement, “A child! There is a child!”
The whole team worked together; carefully they removed the piles of ruined objects and under the young mother’s dead body they rescued a three-month-old little boy wrapped all snug in a flowery blanket. It was obvious that the woman, desperate to save her son had made the ultimate sacrifice. When her house was falling, she used her own body to make a shelter to protect her son. The little boy was still sleeping peacefully when the team leader picked him up.
The medical doctor came quickly to examine the little boy for injuries and when he opened the blanket he saw a cell phone inside the blanket with a text message on the screen. It said, “If you can survive, you must remember that I love you.” As the cell phone was passed around from one hand to another all of the rescuers that read the message wept. “If you can survive, you must remember that I love you.” Such was the mother’s love for her child!
This world is collapsing all around us. Every day brings more news of disaster and death. But there is One who loves even more than this little Japanese mother who gave her life that another would have the opportunity for life.
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth shakes and the mountains slide into the sea, though the oceans roar and their waves foam, or the mountains sway in the bottom of the sea.
“There is a quiet stream called the River of Life that makes us glad. It begins at the heavenly Sanctuary and flows through the Holy City of God, the place where God Himself lives. God is also with us in our city and does not intend for Jerusalem [or our city] to be destroyed. Even if we die, He will be with us until the resurrection morning. When God speaks, nations crumble and the earth itself melts.
“The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Look at what the Lord has done! He has caused amazing events to happen on earth. He will stop all wars. He will halt the flying arrow, break the strongest spear and set on fire the weapons of mass destruction. Fighting will stop everywhere. He will say, ‘Be still and know that I am God. My name will be exalted among nations, and I will assume my place as King.’
“The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge.” Psalm 46 (paraphrase).
This world is on a collision course and its time is running out, but before it is to be completely destroyed, God sent His only Son into this world to provide a shelter to everyone who believes in Him. He wrapped us in His arms of security and then took the brunt of the wrath when He died the cruel death of the cross so we could live on. When we realize that we have been saved at the cost of His life, we realize that His love for us is even greater than that expressed in the text message of a dying mother to her child, “If you can survive, you must remember that I love you.”