The Guide Who Dug In
IllustrationAnalogy★★★★★TWO men were climbing a mountain. They had two guides—a guide in the back and a guide in the front. They were all tied together by the same rope. As they were climbing up the mountain, the guide in the back slipped and fell.
When he fell, he rolled off the edge of the mountain and yanked the two men in the middle. The guide in the front took his axe and dug it into the ice. He gripped and held on. The two men in the middle were able to climb back up on the rope because the guide in the front had dug in and not let go.
Even the guide in the back was able to climb to safety because of the front guide who dug in and saved them. In the garden of Eden, the first Adam slipped and fell, and we are hooked into him by nature. So when Adam died, we all died.
When he slipped and fell, we all slipped and fell with him. We were all hanging over the edge and headed toward an eternal abyss. But there was somebody else on that rope.
He was born of a virgin, a man like you and me. And He dug in. He was born a perfect baby. He lived a perfect life.
He did everything according to the will of God. He dug in, and then He died on a cross and rose from the dead.
Because He dug in, all in Adam who were slipping and heading to the abyss can climb back up on this last Adam who has paid the price.
The point
When Adam fell and dragged humanity toward destruction, Christ dug in and held firm, allowing us to climb back to safety through His perfect life and ultimate sacrifice.