Sermon Illustrations
Actor Jeremy Renner Risked His Life to Save Nephew
Actor Jeremy Renner said he would risk getting run over by a snowplow again to save his nephew. Renner said, “I’d do it again, because it was going right at my nephew.”
The accident happened near Renner’s Nevada home. Heavy snow had fallen, and his vehicle, driven by a family member, got stuck. Renner went to get into his snowplow, which weighs at least 14,000 pounds, to help move the vehicle. As he was speaking with the family member, the snowplow began to roll. He attempted to get back inside, but was run over. The 52-year-old actor broke over 30 bones and required numerous surgeries.
Renner said he thought he might die. He told Diane Sawyer, “I’m thinkin’ like, ‘What’s my body look like? Am I just gonna be like a spine in a brain, like a science experiment?’” Renner’s neighbor who made the 911 call said, “It was blood, the amount of blood, and then he was—he was just in such pain. Then when I looked at his head, it appeared to me to be cracked wide open.”
Renner had broken bones spanning the entire length of his body—including both his ankles, some of his ribs, his right shoulder, eye socket, and jaw. He also suffered a collapsed lung. At one point in the televised interview, Renner started crying and said, “What we just endured. That’s real love. It’s suffering. But that feeds the seeds of what love is.”