Imagine being stuck on a lifeboat with just enough space and supplies for five people to survive for a week. The only problem is that there are six of you. If you share the supplies, everyone runs out before rescue arrives. But none of that matters because the boat is taking on water, and someone needs to be kicked out of the boat as soon as possible before the entire thing sinks and everyone dies.

In this scenario, there's simply not enough to go around to assure everyone's survival. Each person in the boat begins to make a case for why they should be allowed to stay. One person says they are a doctor and can help keep everyone on the boat alive if they can just stop it from sinking. Another person is a marine biologist who knows how to purify salt water and is familiar with the ocean. Another person has sailing experience. One person is an expectant mother who could give birth any day, another person is a military veteran, and the last person is a tradesman who is handy.

The conversation in the lifeboat quickly devolves into an argument about whose life is more valuable, with the implication being that someone else's life is less valuable and more expendable. "With my skills, I can keep us alive!" one person shouts. "I'm carrying an innocent child," pleads the expectant mother. "That just means that you'll take up more resources!" replies another member of the lifeboat. "I'm a good person! I volunteer in my community! I deserve to stay!" explains one person.

The arguing gets louder and more aggressive as the lifeboat begins to take on more water. As the urgency builds, it turns to all-out attacks on people's value and worthiness to stay alive. Each person is simultaneously defending the value of their own skills and moral character while attacking the value of others. Each person is simultaneously defending their own right to survive while attacking the rights of others to survive.

All of a sudden, in the midst of the shouting, they hear a loud splash and immediately feel the boat lighten. They do a quick headcount and realize that there are only five people now. As they begin to empty the water out of the boat, they discover that the tradesman has thrown himself overboard to save their lives. They remember that he was strangely silent while everyone else argued about who was more valuable.

The tradesman had sacrificed himself to save a group of people who weren't willing to do the same. He did so without any assurance that anyone would appreciate it or live their lives in gratitude for his sacrifice.

Once the immediate question of who needed to be thrown overboard was answered, it gave everyone a new perspective. People were humbled that their skills couldn't help anyone without the sacrifice of the tradesman first saving them from drowning. The man who claimed he was "a good person" realized how ridiculous it sounded to use his "goodness" as a reason to justify his survival at someone else's expense. His self-described "goodness" was nothing compared to the sacrifice of the tradesman who gave himself up because the "good person" wasn't willing to.

The environment on the boat changed now that the immediate threat had been dealt with. With the change of perspective came a change in behavior. They began to cooperate and take care of one another. They began to appreciate the very skills and qualities that they had been attacking earlier. Every now and then, someone started to behave like there wasn't room on the lifeboat, but then someone would remind them about the sacrifice of the man who gave himself up, and it would put things back in perspective.

Within a few days, they were rescued. They recovered from their weaknesses and wounds. The survivors actually began to meet somewhat regularly to process their experience of being lost and to remind themselves of the new perspective that they had gained because of the tradesman who had sacrificed himself. They became a small community that encouraged one another, helped one another heal, and helped one another maintain perspective. They began to make little sacrifices for others in light of the sacrifice that was made for them.

The expectant mother gave birth and raised her child as part of this community. The child grew up hearing the stories and experiences and began to appreciate the sacrifice that saved her even before she was born. Everyone in the community helped raise her.

They noticed that people who weren't on the lifeboat just could not relate to their experience, and the survivors began to appreciate and rely on one another more and more. Whenever someone had a flashback to the fear of being thrown overboard, the group would remind them that this was no longer a threat to them. There was no more threat of being condemned. They were safe now and didn't need to prove their value or worth at the expense of others.

This story illustrates what Jesus did. Jesus, the carpenter, sacrificed Himself for the sake of others. When humanity was fighting over who was more valuable and who should have access to resources, Jesus willingly died. He exposed the foolishness of finding our value and worth in our skills. He humbled those who claim to be "good people" (i.e., "self-righteous") by showing them that they used their "goodness" for their own benefit. He disarmed our need to try to rank ourselves above others.

Jesus' sacrifice changes our perspective and allows us to appreciate the skills, value, and worth of others. His sacrifice birthed a new community of people who needed to heal from their experience of being lost and close to death. Those who haven't experienced being rescued don't quite understand it.

His sacrifice means that we no longer need to live in fear of being condemned and no longer need to argue with one another over who gets to stay and who has to go. Those who weren't in the lifeboat may continue those arguments, but those saved by another person's sacrifice don't think like that anymore. They are willing to make sacrifices for the sake of others now