September 21

Helping Others Get Out Alive

The end of all things is near (1 Peter 4:7).

Scripture: 1 Peter 4:7-11

Song: “Rescue the Perishing”

A New York Times article titled, “How to Get Out Alive: What the Science of Evacuation Reveals About How Humans Behave in the Worst of Times,” tells what researchers have learned about evacuation from disaster survivors.

In the case of the doomed World Trade Towers, those who made it out waited for an average of 6 minutes before evacuating. Some lingered as long as half an hour. They stayed to call relatives, shut down computers, and help or talk with coworkers.

One woman, Elia Zedeno, who was on the 73rd floor of Tower One, said she, “heard a booming explosion and felt the building actually lurch to the south, as if it might topple.”

You might expect that her next instinct was to flee. But she had the opposite reaction. “What I really wanted was for someone to scream back, ‘Everything is OK! Don’t worry. It’s in your head.’” Fortunately, at least one of Zedeno’s colleagues responded differently. “The answer I got was another coworker screaming, ‘Get out of the building!’” Years later, she still thinks about that command. “My question is, what would I have done if the person had said nothing?”

This world is going to end. The Bible promises it will happen when people least expect it. But God’s Word also gives clear directions on “How To Get Out Alive.” We can’t afford to keep quiet. People’s lives are on the line.

Gracious Father, help me to speak up and offer the reason for the hope that You have given to me. In Jesus name, amen.