Swasey   The first 911 call came through at 11:38 a.m. to the Colorado Springs police department. It was November 27th, the day after Thanksgiving and someone from inside a Planned Parenthood clinic informed the 911 operator that shots were being fired.

   As law enforcement arrived at the scene, the shooter ran into the Planned Parenthood building and began firing at officers though the front windows. It wasn’t even noon before the police radios crackled with these heart-pounding words: “Please, I’ve been shot!” which came from a female officer, then a male officer’s voice (assumed to be from Officer Garrett Swasey) said, “241 I’ve been shot.”

   The female officer survived, but Officer Swasey soon died of his wounds. Ironically he gave his life rescuing people in the Planned Parenthood building—a place he loathed.

   We know this is true because in addition to being a police officer, Swasey also served (without pay) as an elder at Hope Chapel in Colorado Springs. His commitment to the Bible led him to hate murder—especially the murder of innocent unborn children. In spite of that, he lived out his pro-life convictions when he willingly risked his life to save the lives of employees of an abortion clinic.

   What motivated Officer Swasey to risk his life for those with whom he strongly disagreed? I’ll let him answer that question for me. The Sunday before his death Garrett Swasey preached a sermon to the congregation at Hope Chapel. Here are some excerpts from that message:

One of the challenges is that the idea of Immanuel (God with us) becomes commonplace. I think it’s important for us to renew and refresh in our minds how amazing it is that God walked among us.

We were once enemies of God. To truly grasp this, we need to understand man in his natural state is opposed to God. We like to think they are neutral, no they are not neutral, and it’s important also to understand that God is opposed to man because of sin. So there’s this clash going on between God and man because of sin.

With God we have this mentality we don’t want to change. I like my sin! I enjoy my sin! so in the midst of all of that we decide to change God!

People say, “I’m a halfway decent person!” “God’s going to let everyone into heaven, because He’s so loving and merciful.” This really diminishes the idea of what sin is, and how it impacts our relationship with God and how opposed He is to it.

We tend to want to do our own thing — “rugged individualism.” But in spiritual matters we are utterly dependent on Christ. We cannot stand before God on our own merits! … Everything we have comes from the Lord and everything we have should glorify the Lord. And everything we need is provided by God because Christ is sufficient. …Perseverance is not something that we do in order to obtain salvation…. Perseverance is the evidence of us being in the house of the Lord; it is not the means of us being there. If it were, it would be works (He then read Ephesians 2:8–9 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.). We aren’t saved by perseverance; we are saved by grace!

   Today if you hear His voice. If you hear His voice, do it today. Not tomorrow, not let me sleep on it; today! Before it is too late! Today if you hear His voice do not harden your hearts!

   Officer Swasey finished his sermon with prayer. Here is an excerpt.

   “Lord, let us view grace as what it truly is: a costly tremendous gift that cost You everything, that we might be in relationship with You. And because of the high price of that gift, that we might make You and the Gospel the forefront of our minds as the most valuable thing we possess, as we sang this morning, ‘You can have all this world but give me Jesus!’”

   On November 29th Rachel Swasey, wife, Officer Garrett Swasey released a public statement. In part she said,

   The family of Officer Garrett Swasey sincerely thanks everyone for their support during this very difficult time. Our loss cannot be expressed in words. While the nation now knows Garrett as a hero who gave his life for others, he was also a devoted husband of 17 years and a wonderful father to his two children. His greatest joys were his family, his church, and his profession. We will cherish his memory, especially those times he spent tossing the football to his son and snuggling with his daughter on the couch.   … In the end, his last act was for the safety and well-being of others and was a tribute to his life. What we need most today, and in the coming weeks, is your prayers for our family and for others who were impacted by this tragedy. We are grateful for the tremendous outpouring of love that has come from the community and across the nation.

   I hope you will join me in praying for Rachel Swasey and her two young children, and I would like to challenge you to trust Jesus the way he did.