The Number Everyone Can Call

In 1968, AT&T activated a single telephone number that would change emergency response forever: 911. Before that, Americans had to know their local police or fire department's specific number — a different one in every city and county. If you were visiting a strange town and your child stopped breathing, you had to fumble through a phone book while seconds slipped away.

The genius of 911 was its radical simplicity and universal access. It didn't matter if you were calling from a penthouse in Manhattan or a gas station in rural Alabama. It didn't matter if you spoke with an accent or couldn't remember your exact address. One number. One call. Help dispatched.

Paul makes an even more staggering claim in Romans 10. The word of faith isn't locked behind seminary degrees or religious pedigree. It is near you — in your mouth and in your heart. And the promise attached to calling on the name of the Lord carries no fine print, no eligibility requirements, no distinction between insider and outsider. Jew or Greek, lifelong churchgoer or someone whispering a first desperate prayer in a hospital parking lot — everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

The Almighty didn't hide salvation at the top of a mountain or bury it at the bottom of the sea. He put it as close as your next breath, as simple as your next word. You don't need to know the right number. You just need to call.