Avalanche!  

As the name indicates, “backcountry skiing” is skiing in remote areas not within ski area boundaries on unmarked and ungroomed slopes.  Unlike groomed slopes that one would find at a ski resort, the land and the snow pack are not monitored, patrolled, or maintained.  Backcountry skiing can be hazardous due to avalanche, exhaustion, weather, cliffs, rock fall (falling rock), and tree wells (voids or areas of loose snow around the trunk of a tree enveloped in deep snow into which skiers can fall).

For people like Elisabeth Malloy and her boyfriend, Adam Morrey, the thrill of backcountry skiing is worth the risks.  Last Saturday, the couple did some backcountry skiing in the mountains east of Salt Lake City, Utah, when they triggered and were engulfed by a 700-foot wide avalanche.

Morrey had skied downhill only about 10-15 feet before being knocked over by the slide.  He emerged with his head and chest out of the snow.  He immediately began calling for Malloy, but there was no answer.  Frantically, he freed himself from the snow and his skis and began looking for her.  He soon found her by using avalanche rescue beacons that both of them were wearing.  Using an avalanche shovel, Morrey dug in the snow and found Malloy’s foot and then the rest of her body.  She was unconscious, but Morrey revived her by performing CPR.  Then, with the aid of another skier, they made their way down the mountain.   A rescue helicopter spotted them about 2 ½ hours later.  The skiers were taken to a hospital in Salt Lake City where Malloy was treated for frostbite in her toes and fingers.

The allurement of backcountry skiing to some adventuresome skiers can very well describe the enticement that EACH of us faces regarding SIN.... 

James describes the pernicious process:  “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.  Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death” (James 1:14-15; see also Romans 3:23; 6:23).  The Apostle Paul also describes the “avalanche” that results when people leave God out of their minds and stray from His Word (Romans 1:18-32).

Make no mistake about it: sin IS alluring.  The tempter (Satan) emphasizes the temporary thrill – the “passing pleasures” (Hebrews 11:25) – but not the deadly consequence of sin.

Morrey confessed that they knew about the risk of avalanche that day they went skiing.  “Our judgment was overwhelmed by the pursuit of having more fun and skiing the steeper slopes and the great Utah powder,” Morrey said. That pursuit almost led to their deaths.

The pursuit of the passing pleasures of sin is always deadly, “for the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).

But God loves us so much that He gave His only Son to die on the cross for our sins (John 3:16).  Through Jesus we can have the forgiveness of our sins and the gift of eternal life (Ephesians 1:7; Romans 6:23).

Jesus will rescue from the avalanche of sin those who will: place their faith and trust in Him (Acts 16:30-31), turn from sin in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Him before men (Romans 10:9-10), and be baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sin (Acts 2:38).  Those who continue to trust in Him and follow Him faithfully, He will lead to eternal glory (John 14:1-6).

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the beacon that sounds forth the Good News of salvation from sin, and if YOU will answer His “call” through your trusting obedience, He will come to your rescue.

Won’t YOU?