“Don't be afraid, lowly worm . . . I will help you.”
Have you ever noticed what happens to earthworms after a heavy rain? Around here, they come crawling out of the ground and somehow many of them end up stranded on sidewalks, driveways, parking lots, and streets. Some are little earthworms, but others are those great big ones we call nightcrawlers. When the rain stops and the sun comes out, those worms are in serious trouble. Unless they find their way back into the ground, they're going to die.
Now imagine walking outside after a heavy rain and discovering your driveway covered with earthworms. There might be a dozen, or there might be hundreds. Some are still crawling around, apparently looking for somewhere to go. Others are lying almost motionless. A few have gathered around a small patch of moisture, as though they've discovered a little oasis in the middle of the pavement. But the sun is coming out, and that little patch of moisture won't last.
You could simply walk past them. After all, they're only worms. Most people don't particularly like worms anyway. They're dirty, slimy, and sometimes downright disgusting. And besides, who has time to rescue a driveway full of earthworms?
But suppose you stop. You recognize something those worms cannot possibly understand. You know what will happen when the pavement dries. You know they need more than a little puddle of water. And you know that just a short distance away, there's a garden filled with rich, moist soil where they could live, grow, and flourish.
Suddenly, you have an idea. Why not rescue them? But how? You certainly can't carry hundreds of squirming earthworms in your hands. You'll need something to put them in while you gather them. Perhaps a bucket or container with some moist soil to keep them safe until you can take them to the garden. And you'll need to figure out how to pick them up without injuring them. After all, those little creatures are rather delicate.
And what about the ones that have already been hurt? Some may have been stepped on. Others may have been run over by bicycle tires or injured by something dragged across the pavement. Some may already be drying out. You can't undo every injury, but you can give them a chance to live.
So you get your container ready and begin. Have you ever actually tried to pick up an earthworm? You bend down, carefully reach for it, and discover that the little creature doesn't appreciate your kindness one bit! It wiggles. It squirms. It twists itself into knots. And did I mention how slimy those things are? Just when you think you've got a good hold on one, it slips right through your fingers! You're trying to save its life, and it's doing everything possible to get away from you.
Of course, the worm doesn't know what you're doing. It doesn't understand your intentions. It senses that something unusual is happening and reacts the only way it knows how. You, on the other hand, understand something the worm cannot. You know where it is, what danger it faces, and where it needs to go. So you patiently try again. And again.
You pick up the big worms and the little ones. You carefully lift those that are still moving and those that are barely moving at all. You look along the edges of the driveway, beside the sidewalk, and in the little cracks where some have become trapped. And when you've collected the ones you can see, you look around for more. You don't want to leave any behind.
Eventually, you've gathered as many as you can find. Now you carry them to the garden you've prepared for them. You could simply leave them all in that bucket of damp soil. At least they wouldn't die on the hot pavement. That alone would be an act of mercy. But that wasn't your plan. You wanted something much better for them.
So you take them into the garden, carefully distribute them among the plants, and place them where the soil is rich and moist. Here they can burrow into the earth, find nourishment, and grow. Their lives can become part of the flourishing life of the garden itself. They have been given far more than a chance to survive.
And what did those worms do to deserve all that trouble? Absolutely nothing. They didn't ask you for help. They didn't understand your intentions. They certainly didn't cooperate very well. And they probably won't ever appreciate what you've done. Yet you saw their danger, wanted to help, made a plan, and carried it out. You could have walked past. But you didn't.
What Does This Tell Us About God?
I've wondered whether God sometimes sees us much the same way. Not because He finds us disgusting, but because He sees how helpless we are and how little we understand the danger we're in.
Like those earthworms, we were born into a world polluted by sin. We've lived here so long that we've become accustomed to things that are destroying us. Some of us have been badly injured by the choices of others. Some have suffered because of our own choices. And some are barely holding on.
God sees it all. He sees the physical suffering, the emotional wounds, the spiritual confusion, and the countless ways sin has damaged the people He created. And He sees each one of us individually. Jesus once looked at the crowds around Him and was moved with compassion because they were distressed and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36).
That's what I want us to understand about God. He doesn't look at suffering humanity and turn away in disgust. He sees His children in trouble, and He wants to help.
Remember those words from Isaiah 41:14? God actually calls His people a worm, but then immediately tells them not to be afraid. Why? Because He promises to help them. He doesn't say they must first become strong enough, clean enough, or deserving enough to receive His attention. He sees their helplessness and promises to be their Helper and Redeemer.
And that brings us to two wonderful words: mercy and grace.
Mercy and Grace
Suppose our earthworm rescuer had simply picked up the worms and placed them in a large container of damp soil. They would no longer be stranded on the pavement, and they would have a chance to survive. That would be mercy. The rescuer had seen their danger and spared their lives.
But suppose he went much further. He took them to a beautiful garden, where the soil was rich, moisture was plentiful, and there was room to grow and flourish. Instead of merely surviving in a container, they could enjoy the kind of life for which they were created. That illustrates grace.
In Scripture, mercy and grace are closely related, and sometimes overlap. God's mercy expresses His compassion toward us in our suffering and helplessness. His grace is His freely given favor, providing blessings we could never earn. The rescuer's decision to save the worms could itself be described as both merciful and gracious. But the difference between the container and the garden helps us appreciate how far God's generosity extends.
God doesn't merely want to keep us from dying. He wants us to live! Jesus said, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10:10, KJV)
Think about that. The Creator of the universe doesn't merely want to spare us from the consequences of sin. He wants to restore everything sin has damaged and give us the life He intended for us from the beginning. And He has a plan to accomplish it.
The Rescuer Who Came Looking for Us
There's something else about our earthworm illustration that I don't want us to miss. The worms didn't come looking for their rescuer. The rescuer came looking for them. And that's exactly what Jesus did.
He said, "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." (Luke 19:10, KJV)
Jesus didn't remain in heaven waiting for humanity to find its own way back to Him. He came into our world, became one of us, and lived among the very people He came to rescue. He sought out people others avoided. He touched lepers, welcomed sinners, healed the brokenhearted, and showed us what His Father is really like.
And He didn't treat people as an anonymous crowd. He saw individuals. He noticed the blind man beside the road, the woman who reached out to touch His garment, the tax collector hiding in a tree, and the Samaritan woman who came alone to draw water. Each one mattered to Him. And so do you.
Our earthworm rescuer might spend hours trying to save as many worms as possible, but eventually human strength and time would run out. No person could find and rescue every endangered worm. But God's love reaches toward every human being. Second Peter 3:9 tells us that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. He wants everyone to be saved. And He knows every person He is trying to rescue.
How can God care for billions of people in the entire human family and still be concerned for the individual? I don't know how He does it. But then, consider the difference between what a human being can understand and what an earthworm can understand. A worm cannot begin to comprehend our ability to build houses, drive automobiles, or send spacecraft into orbit.
Now consider the difference between our minds and the mind of the One who created the universe. Isaiah 55:8–9 reminds us that God's thoughts and ways are far higher than ours. We cannot begin to comprehend everything He knows or everything He is capable of doing.
But He has given us something the earthworm doesn't have. We can understand enough of His love to make a choice. We can look at the life of Jesus, consider what He has done for us, and decide whether we will trust Him. God doesn't force us to accept His rescue. He wants us to know Him well enough that we will willingly place our lives in His hands.
How Far Would You Go to Save a Worm?
Imagine spending hours rescuing earthworms from a driveway. You bend down again and again, getting your hands dirty, carefully lifting one slimy creature after another. You carry them to safety, prepare a place for them, and give them a future. That would be an extraordinary act of kindness.
But would you die for those worms? Would you willingly give your own life so that they could live? That's where our illustration falls far short of what Jesus has done for us.
Jesus didn't simply stoop down from heaven for a moment and lift us out of danger. He became human. He became a worm like us. He lived among us, endured our rejection, suffered at the hands of those He came to save, and finally gave His life for us.
Romans 5:8 tells us that God demonstrated His love for us while we were still sinners, when Christ died for us. He didn't wait until we understood Him. He didn't wait until we stopped resisting. He loved us while we were still running away.
And His work of rescue didn't end at the cross. Jesus rose from the dead, returned to heaven, and continues His ministry on our behalf as our High Priest (Hebrews 7:25). The One who became human to rescue us remains both human and divine. He has forever joined Himself to the family He came to save.
He Wants to Take Us Home to His Garden!
Remember what our earthworm rescuer wanted? He didn't merely want to remove those worms from the pavement. He wanted to place them somewhere they could enjoy the life for which they were created. God wants something even more wonderful for us.
The Bible begins with God creating a beautiful earth and placing Adam and Eve in a garden. Everything they needed was provided. They enjoyed a world untouched by sin, where they could live in the presence of their Creator.
But sin changed everything. Suffering, disease, fear, and death entered the world. Our beautiful home became polluted by sin and everything sin brought with it. Yet God never abandoned His purpose for humanity.
Revelation 21:1–3 describes a new heaven and a new earth. And then comes the wonderful announcement that God Himself will dwell with His people. Revelation 22 describes the river of life, the tree of life, and a world where the curse is finally gone.
God isn't planning to rescue us from this earth only to abandon His original creation. He intends to restore it. He wants His children to enjoy meaningful lives, loving relationships, purposeful activity, and the joy of living in a world where nothing can hurt or destroy them again.
And here's something that makes His plan even more extraordinary. The person who rescues the earthworms eventually leaves them in the garden and returns home. But Jesus plans to make His home with us. Imagine that! The Creator of the universe wants to spend eternity with the very people who have spent so much of their lives trying to get away from Him.
The next time you see a nightcrawler struggling on the pavement, remember the God who stooped down to rescue you. He sees your condition. He understands your struggles. He knows what sin has done to you. And He knows the beautiful future He wants to give you.
He could have left us to our own fate. But He didn't. He came looking for us.
And perhaps you might whisper a little prayer:
"Jesus, thank You for loving me enough to come looking for me. Thank You for Your mercy that rescues me and Your grace that offers me so much more than I deserve. Help me understand Your love, recognize Your hands reaching toward me, and trust You enough to let You take me home."
