THE other week our washing machine broke down.

I came home to be greeted by my wife standing next to a large ocean of soap suds washing across the kitchen floor. Not a happy sight.

Panic set in, the washing machine is the most used appliance in the house. Unwashed clothes from five family members, three of whom are teenagers, were already piling up.

Fortunately we have a repair contract and within 24 hours the washer was up and running. The pump, the cause of the problem, replaced by a very efficient repair technician. We had been saved from the prospect of mountains of dirty clothes going unwashed for days. Not forgetting the mammoth task of ironing which would have followed.

There are times in our lives when we all need to be saved. To be rescued from situations and events.

At the centre of Christian belief there lies a promise of rescue, of being saved, a person whom God sent and named as saviour, Jesus Christ. Jesus is the one who brings rescue. He is the saviour who brings the saving grace of God, materially and spiritually, helping all who believe to face those crisis situations in life. As Jesus said "Our faith has saved you, go in peace" (Luke 7:50).

REV A J COOTE, Curate, Holy Trinity & St James's.