In the old Westerns, they said the hero was the guy in the white hat.
In the life-or-death moments of September 11, 2001, it was the man with the red bandana.
A red bandana had been Welles Crowther's trademark since he was a boy. He still carried one even as a 24-year-old equities trader in the South Tower of the World Trade Center. And he had it on that fateful September day when the tower was in flames.
Ling Young will never forget the "man with the red bandana." She was sitting, bloody and dazed, waiting with others for help in the Elevator Sky Lobby. It was there on the 78th floor that the second hijacked plane had sliced through the tower. She said, "All of a sudden I heard a gentleman come out of the corner saying, 'I found the stairs. Follow me.'" The man was carrying a woman on his back, and he had a red bandana in his hand. After leading the group to a stairwell and giving them a fire extinguisher, he disappeared back up the stairs to help others.
That was the last time she saw him - and "he's been on my mind every day."
Judy Wein was in that same Sky Lobby, badly injured. That's when she saw a man with a red bandana over his nose and mouth come running across the room. He led them to the unseen staircase that would take them to safety. In Judy Wein's words: "He was the cowboy coming in to save the town...he basically gave his life." Ling Young is sure that "without him, I would not be here. He definitely saved my life." Six months after the towers fell, they found his body in the rubble.
I just can't read this story without remembering the Man who gave His life to save mine. And to save so many others. On the fateful day when He died to rescue me, it was not a red bandana He wore. It was a crown of thorns, jammed into His head. He bled red for me. And the way I'll know Him when I see Him is by those awful nail prints in His hands. The scars that will forever declare how much my sin cost - and how deeply He loves me. He tells me, "I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands" (Isaiah 49:15-16).
I'm not alone in my desperate need for a spiritual rescuer. We all sit in the darkness and danger of being away from God - and on the edge of being swept into an awful eternity after our last heartbeat. But here comes Jesus with His hand extended saying, "I have made a way out. Follow Me." Our eternal destiny depends on whether or not we do. "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life" (John 3:36).
Welles Crowther's father says, "His last hour was his legacy." Jesus' last hour - when, on that cross, He chose to be cut off from God so we would never have to be - was His legacy.
With a very full heart, I can tell you - I'm part of that legacy.
Account is based on a story by Liza Porteus on FoxNews.com - Sept. 10, 2002.