Rescue workers had been laboring for over twelve hours at the site of four collapsed residential buildings in China recently when they discovered one final survivor in the rubble: a three year-old girl, wrapped tightly in the arms of her dead father. Wu Ningxi was found buried deep in the massive pile of crumbled cement, where the old buildings, poorly constructed, overcrowded, and rain-laden, once stood. The structures had been home to a large number of migrant workers, numbered among the hundreds of millions that have made the move from the Chinese countryside to urban areas to help meet the demand for workers in the nation's growing economy. Most of the workers remain impoverished and face federal restrictions on where they can live.

Rescue workers made the discovery of Wu's body when they removed a thick cement pillar to find her father's body draped over her, shielding her from the crushing weight of the building. He was 26 years old. She sustained only minor injuries. One worker told reporters, "The child was able to survive entirely thanks to the fact that her dad used his own flesh and blood to prop up a life-saving space for his daughter."

Potential Preaching Angle: This story is an incredible picture of the love of a parent for a child, even to death. It is also a touching reminder that God's rescue of humanity did not come without sending his Son to be crushed on our behalf. In the end, the sacrificial embrace of the Father is our one and only rescue.