The Savior said, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)

3:59 P.M., January 13, 1982: Air Florida Flight 90 sped down the runway and lifted off into the worst winter storm Washington D.C. had seen in decades. The plane, bound for Tampa, Florida, banked toward the icy Potomac River vibrating violently as it struggled to climb through the snowstorm.

Suddenly, the pilots saw the 14th Street Bridge over the Potomac looming in their view. They were supposed to be 700 feet above it, but instead, they were headed straight for it. Frantically they worked to keep the aircraft aloft, but with the nose up and the tail down, the plane stuck the crowded four-lane bridge. The tail section of the plane was sheared off and dropped into the water on one side of the bridge, while the fuselage of the plane fell in the river on the other.

Rescue crews were dispatched immediately. As the rescue helicopter descends on the crash scene, they see six people clinging to the tail section. They drop so close in their efforts to rescue them that at one point their skids actually touch the water. A life ring is pitched out which settles into the arms of a balding man of about fifty years of age. And then to their surprise, rather than grab the ring and be hauled to safety, he passes the ring to the woman in the water next to him. She grabs that ring and the chopper carries her to safety.

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The chopper returns, this time with two ropes and life rings. And again when they throw it out, the rope lands near the same man. And again he presses the ring into the hands of a dazed young woman next to him. She seems unable to hold the ring. Another man grabs that ring and wraps his arm around her and another women still remaining in the water, while the other ring is grabbed by another man. The chopper shudders and shakes under the load, but manages to lift just enough to skim the surface of the water and deliver the freezing passengers into the arms of waiting rescue personnel.

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Now, there is only one man left in the water, and they want him; oh, how badly they want him. But before they’re able to return, he slips beneath the surface of the icy black water. He is nowhere to be seen. Through tear-filled eyes they hover and search the water. They are too late. The nameless hero known across America simply as ‘the man in the water’ is gone.

78 people lost their lives in that terrible tragedy, but out of it something was gained that is an inspiration to us all. This man was a hero.

And maybe in your thinking you have thought, ‘If only I could give my life in such a way.’ Now, I’ve thought about this. And you know, few of us will ever have such a chance to lay our lives down in death for another. But I am convinced that in no way does that mean we cannot lay it down. Every day, and especially every Sabbath, we are invited by the Master to rescue the dying souls of men. Will it count any less if I spend my life wearing it out to save the souls of men, than if I save only a few in a moment of heroism? I don’t think so.

My dear friends, this is our time, and certainly the season of our opportunity. And I assure you – there is more than enough to do.