BEING ROPE HOLDERS

 In Damascus the ethnarch under Aretas the king was guarding the city of the Damascenes in order to seize me. And I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and so escaped his hands.

 2 Corinthians 11:32-33

Paul recounted his dramatic escape to the Corinthians some twenty years later. Although he never named them, the rope-holders who helped him were never forgotten. His remarkable ministry would not have been possible without these unsung servants. Every soul brought to Christ, every church planted, and every worker trained through Paul’s ministry was credited, in part, to them — much like the promise that a cup of water given in God’s name shares in the reward.

The church is still filled with rope-holders. Some faithfully give or pray for missionaries. Praying mothers hold the rope for wandering children. Men and women of faith stand in the gap during threatening times, as Abraham did for Lot when Sodom and Gomorrah were caught up in conflict (Genesis 14:1–24).

During a summer 2014 week at Camp Christigan, two grade-school boys were preparing to leave for Papua New Guinea with their missionary parents, saying goodbye to everything familiar. On the final evening around the campfire, I shared the story of rope-holders and challenged the campers to commit to praying for these boys. I reached into my pocket for the rope I had brought so they could tug on it as a symbol of their promise — but it wasn’t there. I later realized I had left it on my desk. Thinking the idea was too gimmicky anyway, I looked down… and right by my foot lay a two-foot piece of rope. I picked it up, convinced God wanted us to continue.

One by one, campers stepped forward and tugged the rope in front of the boys. They never forgot that moment, and both they and their parents were deeply encouraged.

Let me encourage you to be a rope-holder — for missionaries, the wandering, the sick, the persecuted, and weary pastors. Your support matters more than you know. 

Russ Simpson