The hymn Throw Out the Lifeline, written by Edwin S. Ufford, encourages Christians to tell others about Jesus. We must “throw out” the spiritual lifeline by sharing the Gospel of Christ.
Part of one version of the song includes an exhortation to those not in a saved condition. The final three verses state:
This is the lifeline, oh, tempest-tossed men,
Baffled by waves of temptation and sin;
Wild winds of passion, your strength cannot brave,
But Jesus is mighty, and Jesus can save.
Jesus is able! To you who are driv’n
Farther and farther from God and from Heav’n,
Helpless and hopeless, o’erwhelmed by the wave,
We throw out the lifeline—’tis, “Jesus can save.”
This is the lifeline, oh, grasp it today!
See, you are recklessly drifting away;
Voices in warning, shout over the wave,
Oh, grasp the strong lifeline, for Jesus can save.
Sin separates us from God (Isa. 59:2). Everyone who has reached a point of accountability before God has sinned (Rom. 3:23), and is thereby on the path to eternal death in hell (Rom. 6:23a), until we “grasp the lifeline” Jesus offers (Rom. 6:23b). Grasping this lifeline requires being born again spiritually (John 3:3), as we are baptized and “bury” the old life of sin, rising to walk in “newness of life” (Rom. 6:3-4). We then hang onto the lifeline by obeying God’s commands for us to the best of our ability moving forward.
If someone was drowning in water and he or she were thrown a lifeline, it would be obvious that he or she needed to grasp onto the lifeline. Without it, the individual would be hopeless.
Yet, few recognize their need for a spiritual lifeline. Few realize how lost and helpless they are. Thus, few see the need to give their lives to Christ.
Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6), but we must recognize our need for Him and seek Him eagerly.
This would seem a light thing to ask for the opportunity to receive eternal life. The reason this opportunity exists is because “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8).
For anyone who is not faithfully obeying Christ, why not “grasp the lifeline” today by submitting to Him? For those who are faithfully obeying Christ, may we “hang on tight” to that lifeline, and, as the song encourages, “throw out the lifeline” to others by doing what we can to lead others to salvation.
– Michael Hickox