Do You Know CPR?

The father of a dear friend of ours had a fatal heart attack last week.  Family members, one of them a nurse, attempted to resuscitate him using CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) but it was not successful.  It seems, having stepped into Glory, he was not going to be recalled to this life.

When I hear of this type of occurrence, I usually have the thought, "What if this were to happen in this room right now, how many people know CPR to try to resuscitate someone?"

Thankfully, even an untrained bystander can provide help with CPR simply by giving "Hands-Only CPR".  By placing their hands in the center of the victim's chest and pushing hard and fast (the American Heart Association recommends using the disco tune of "Staying Alive" to give the rhythm) a bystander can more than double a victim's chances of survival.

But as important as knowing the American Heart Association's CPR can be, I wonder, do you know the other CPR? It can't be learned in a class, you can't watch a video to get it.  There is only one way to know this CPR, and it is eternally essential that everyone do so.

CPR, Christ's Perfect Righteousness.  The only way we can know this is by grace through faith in Christ Jesus Himself.  When we accept the Lord as our Savior, we are given the gift of His righteousness.  There is no other way to obtain it.  We can never be good enough to meet His standard by ourselves.

"Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.  For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous," (Romans 5: 18,19.)

So, it's good to learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but make sure -- make very sure -- you know the most important CPR.  As our friend's father has shown us, life is uncertain.