If you've ever watched the movie about Apollo 13, you know that mission turned into one of the greatest rescues ever undertaken. Scientists worked around the clock to get the three astronauts aboard the spacecraft home safely. There were so many variables that could go wrong, yet they never gave up trying to get them back. The final obstacle to overcome was possible damage to their heat shield due to the explosion earlier in the flight. If the heat-shield was damaged, the astronauts might burn up while descending through the earth's atmosphere.
During re-entry, radio blackout was supposed to last 4 minutes. So if they weren't back in 4 minutes, everyone would know they burned up . When the radio blackout was expected to end, Mission Control began calling the spacecraft. "Odyssey this is Houston, do you read me....Odyssey this is Houston, do you read me?" They took 33 seconds longer than expected, but finally the parachutes appear and the call is heard, "Hello Houston this is Odyssey, it's good to see you again." Everyone in Mission Control erupts with cheers. People are crying, laughing, hugging, jumping up and down. The astronauts had returned home safely, and those who worked to bring them home were ecstatic.
This is one of my favorite movies, so I tend to watch it every once in a while. But the other day, I looked at the end of this film with a different perspective. The story suddenly reminded me of the story of the prodigal son in Luke chapter 15. I understand parts of these stories are far from parallel, but they are both stories of rescue and celebration at their core. Even though the prodigal son left home in a state of rebellion, when the son returned, the father had compassion and ran to meet his son when he arrived. In fact, he threw a party for the son because he was ecstatic that he had returned. The father says, "For this son of mine was dead and is alive again, he was lost and is found." His son had returned home safely and he was overcome with joy.
What a picture of God's love for us. He didn't just stay awake for hours on end for us. He didn't just do the arithmetic and spend time in a simulator to bring us home. He sent his son Jesus to die on a cross. He died and rose again to pay the penalty for our sins, that we can have eternal life with Him and bring glory to God. And when we repent, and trust in Jesus' death for our sins, he doesn't sit there and look up at us with shame, he runs to us, brings us home and rejoices that we are saved. Jesus did the ultimate work to bring us home. He is our heat shield and parachute into the ocean of God's love. The celebration at the return of the astronauts pales in comparison to the celebration God throws when His people are saved through faith in Jesus Christ!
