On Friday the 13th it’s simply superstitious to be afraid of experiencing an unlucky tragedy. As silly and spiritually-unhealthy as this sounds people seem to be more in tune to potential calamities, tending to worry more about their safety today than on other days. But have you considered, saving others from danger is rarely safe?
Too often we take for granted the heroic people who serve our community, brave people who step in and save us from all sorts of dangers, our police, EMTs, and firefighters deserve our respect. I’m reminded of John 15:13 whenever I think of people who risk their safety to rescue us: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”
Saving others from danger is rarely safe, yet for some placing themselves in harm's way comes through a personal sacrifice. There are people who actually relinquish their vacation time and days off to free up their time to serve Kingsport -- a group most of us mistakenly think are on the city’s payroll. They not only volunteer their time to rescue us from every type of catastrophic incident imaginable, but astonishingly these folks actually raise the money themselves to purchase the expensive vehicles and lifesaving equipment that are required to rescue us. (See their website here: Kingsport Lifesaving Crew)
Whether it’s a natural disaster or an industrial accident, from cave and trench rescues, to swift-water and remote rescues, to extracting victims from demolished vehicles, to many other dangerous scenarios (you have seen their heavy-crash truck which looks much like a fire department vehicle and their light rescue vehicle which looks like an ambulance) these highly trained folks with specialized skills are on call 24/7/365. Not only do they donate their time, they completely depend on grants and charitable contributions to outfit the organization.
Until recently, I had no idea the Kingsport Lifesaving crew operated as a volunteer organization, or that they raised their funding. Just because this knowledge increases my appreciation for the folks on the Kingsport Lifesaving Crew, this doesn’t lessen my respect or appreciation for those on the city’s payroll who place themselves in danger to rescue us as well; it is simply a different type of appreciation.
Both the paid professionals and the highly trained volunteers serve us in times of great need, and we would be in dire straits without these brave individuals. I doubt our police and firefighters show up just for a paycheck, it is in a sense a ministry when you think about it -- when you combine their efforts with a volunteer organization dependent upon donations, our admiration naturally increases as well.
Paul wrote in Romans 13:7, “Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.” I hope as a community we honor and appreciate these brave folks who stare down danger and step in to save us. Thank you to everyone who forfeits their comfort, risks their personal safety, and who stands in the way of danger to rescue us -- I don’t believe in luck, but I do believe in you.
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