Hello Saints,
I hope you are walking with the Lord on this humid and hot August day of 2020. Between all the rain, storms, and COVID-19, it sure has made coping with the unknown challenging. If there is anything at all then I can do for you, or your kingdom community can do for you, please let me know.
Today’s post is titled “Kingdom Friendship In The Midst Of The Fire.” You may be asking, “what does that blog title even mean?” The title for today’s blog was inspired by the courageous act of local hero from Byrnes Mill, Missouri, and what Jesus says is the greatest act of love, which is to lay down one’s life for a friend. We often celebrate the men and women of the military, along with first responders, which we should. These brave people put their life on the line every day for their country. Thank God for these men and women from the past, present, and future. But what I am referring to in the title for today’s blog comes from a spontaneous act of friendship, which none of us genuinely know how we would respond unless we are put in that position.
Here is the story as it unfolded:¹
Christoph “CJ” Banta, 27, of Hillsboro died Wednesday night (July 29), several hours after a good Samaritan pulled him from a burning truck that had crashed at Hwy. 30 and Gravois Road in Byrnes Mill, said Chief Frank T. Selvaggio of the Byrnes Mill Police Department.
At about noon, Banta was driving a Ford super-duty truck and reportedly ran into the back of an AT&T utility truck that was stopped at the intersection, Selvaggio said.
Christopher Anderson, 48, of High Ridge was driving the AT&T truck. He had minor injuries but was not transported to the hospital, Selvaggio added.
Elijah Huddleston, 33, of Byrnes Mill said he was behind Banta’s truck when the accident happened.
“I was right behind him, and I got out to check on him,” Huddleston said.
He said he tried to open the driver’s door, but it was stuck, so he broke the passenger window with a jack he found in the back of the truck.
“I crawled in there and said, ‘We gotta get you out; the truck’s on fire,'” Huddleston said. “I said you are going to have to grit your teeth because it’s going to hurt.”
Huddleston said he could tell Banta’s legs were broken.
It took three tries to pull Banta out, Huddleston said.
He said he didn’t think before crawling into the burning vehicle.
“He looked good when we were laying on the side of the road talking.”
The Big River Ambulance District transported Banta to Mercy Hospital South in south St. Louis County, where he later died due to his injuries, Selvaggio said.
He said the High Ridge Fire Protection District, North Jefferson County Ambulance, and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the scene of the accident.
Selvaggio said Banta’s fiancee and some family members stopped by the Byrnes Mill Police Station on Thursday (July 29) to thank Huddleston, who met them there.
“It was pretty powerful,” Selvaggio said.
He said there was a lot of hugging and crying.
Huddleston said the meeting “was a little emotional.”
He said the family thanked him because they were able to say goodbye to Banta before he died at the hospital.
Huddleston said Banta was supposed to be married in two weeks.
When you read this story, it makes you feel hopeful about our country, despite all the craziness going on around the world. Huddleston said, “he didn’t think before crawling into the burning vehicle.” “I guess that was kind of crazy; I wasn’t thinking about it. I just had to get him out.” “I just couldn’t sit there and watch him burn alive.” I would question and respond with, “was it crazy?” Is it possible Huddleston was inspired and empowered by the Holy Spirit to do what Jesus claims is the greatest act of love, which is to risk one’s life for the sake of another? I have never met Huddleston, so I don’t have a comment about his character from personal experience. But, from the facts about this story, it sure says a lot about the heart and character of Elijah Huddleston.
Let’s say you! Have you ever had to make an on the spot decision to risk your life for another? If yes, where did you get the desire and willingness to help, despite the risk of losing your own life? There is no doubt in my faith journey that this type of action can only be a God thing.
When I was a young boy, somewhere around the age of ten, I went on an adventure with my friend Mike into the woods across the creek from our trailer park in Arnold, MO. The creek was high due to the Meramac River being flooded, so we walked a long way to get to what the locals called “the log.” The log was a giant tree that had fallen over the creek many years before and was a secure way for the folks to cross the creek. The only problem was that we wasted so much time in the woods, that we were both past our curfew for dinner, so we desperately needed to get home immediately, but we were a long way from that famous log.
We approached the part of the trailer park where we both lived and assessed our chances of jumping from one side of the creek to the other without landing in the creek, and we made the decision to go for it. My friend “Little Mike” decided to go first; he was the most scared about being late. He ran and jumped and didn’t make it; he landed right in the middle of that flooded creek. With all of the weight from being fully dressed, and the water being higher than he was tall, Mike was in a world of trouble. As I stood there wrestling with the fear of watching my friend in the process of drowning, I unthinkingly jumped in to help him. I was a little taller than Mike, so I could stand on my tiptoes and barely keep my nose out of the water. I was able to help him get out, and he started screaming for help. His dad and several others came and rescued me out of the creek. Everyone there assured us both how stupid we were for attempting to jump that creek. The question to ponder is “was it irrational for me to try to save my friend, with a strong possibly of being injured or killed myself?” I don’t know that answer; I just didn’t think, I simply reacted, exactly like Huddleston did.
Check out what Jesus had to say in John 15:9-16 (NIV).
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
Friends, our goal in life should be to develop the heart and character of the person of Jesus Christ. Christ should reign inside us so strong that we are more concerned about the wellbeing of others versus ourselves. We should all strive to be like Huddleston. The question shouldn’t be, “what are the odds I may get hurt or killed?” We shouldn’t be thinking, but instead engaging prayer, a prayer for the strength, wisdom, and courage to take the next right action, so we can be of maximum service to the people about us, despite the present circumstances.
Although Christoph “CJ” Banta, of Hillsboro, MO, tragically lost his life, his family was still blessed by the bravery of Elijah Huddleston, and so are we since we have heard this story. Please pray for the Banta family, his fiance’, and their friends. Also pray for Christopher Anderson, the driver of the other vehicle, and the first responders who were on the scene. Friends, we never know the day or the hour we may be charged with saving someone else’s life, or somebody trying to save ours, but I hope that all of us have the heart and character to exercise the greatest love of all by putting our life on the line to save another. This is what Elijah did for CJ, and this is what Jesus did for the entire world. What a friend we have in Jesus, Amen! What a blessing that we have people like Elijah Huddleson roaming the earth. Thank you, Elijah Huddleston, for exemplifying kingdom friendship in the midst of the fire.
Until Next Week!
Shalom,
Pastor Harold Long
Leave a Reply