WisconsinChristianNews.com Volume 27, Issue 1 From the Publisher... God’s Lifeboat Is More Than Half Empty!
Page 3
By Rob Pue April 2026
never need them, they only included enough for less than half those on board, to make for a better looking, less crowded boat deck. Iceberg warnings came in all day and evening but were generally ignored and Titanic pressed forward, speeding even faster toward disaster. Perhaps what makes the story of the Titanic so sad and heart-rending is that the people involved were really no differ- ent than we are today. We can easily identify with them. If we were on a ship that was said to be “unsinkable,” would we feel it necessary to hold a lifeboat drill, or would we call it off if it was too cold outside or inconvenient? Would we heed iceberg warnings if we “knew” our ship was unsinkable, or con- tinue on with the party we were enjoy- ing? Wealth, comfort and luxury can make people complacent, lulled into a false sense of security. We can become so full of ourselves that we feel we’re in- vincible. We can think all is well, when disaster is just around the corner. As First Thessalonians tells us, “When they shall say, ‘Peace and safety,’ then sud- den destruction cometh upon them...and they shall not escape.” In much the same way the people of Noah’s day were warned, and just as Sodom and Gomorrah were warned, and just as those on the Titanic were warned about the icebergs, we are warned about the consequences of complacency and indifference to sin — sin in the world and sin in our own lives. We’re warned of the cost of living apart from God and without the salvation of Christ. But do we heed the warnings? Or do we continue on in comfort, luxury and ease, doing our own thing, ignoring God? Continued on Page 7
This month marks another an- niversary of the sinking of the Ti- tanic. For genera- tions, this tragic story has captivated hearts and minds. The loss of the Ti-
tanic left a shaken world in disbelief and made people stop and think. I, person- ally, became deeply intrigued by the Ti- tanic from the moment I learned of the story as a young child. I believe this is one of those rare, his- toric events that provides a myriad of timeless lessons. The most obvious is the sinfulness of human pride and arro- gance...clearly present in almost every aspect of the story. Titanic took 12,000 men more than two years to construct. The people of the day wanted luxury, and to say that’s what they found in Titanic would be an understatement. Not only was Titanic the largest man-made moving object ever built, it was also the most luxurious ship the world had ever known. It was a float- ing palace loaded with fine amenities; a five-star hotel on the sea. Never before had anyone seen anything like it. First class suites even included private prom- enade decks, sitting rooms and lavato- ries. It boasted the first on-board swimming pool, and the dining rooms were decked out in fine linen, crystal glassware and fine china. She was truly impressive, but Titanic’s owners failed to remember Psalm 127:1: “Unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it.” Throughout the Bible are accounts of proud men who refused to humble
themselves and acknowledge God, who built monuments to themselves and their achievements, trusting in their own abilities, possessions and self-efforts, rather than acknowledging the Lord. All inevitably came to a tragic end. In 1 Peter 5:5 we read, “...God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble...” The Titanic was a symbol of everything man could achieve, and she was truly beautiful. But the people forgot God and even taunted God’s awesome power, boasting that: “God Himself could not sink this ship!” With all the latest inno- vations in ship-building technology, in- cluding 15 watertight doors, it was accepted as fact that Titanic really was unsinkable. As we all know, God Himself could sink the Titanic, but no big storm or major “act of God” was needed. Once again, the
arrogance of man was adequate to facil- itate his undoing. Titanic was brand new, shiny and strong, and this was her maiden voyage. Passengers enjoyed a tranquil crossing the first few days on their way to New York and, in fact, crew members re- marked they had never seen the Atlantic more calm, the night tragedy struck. On Sunday, April 14, 1912, Titanic was making excellent speed and most of the passengers spent the day indoors be- cause the weather had turned suddenly cold. Captain Smith held church serv- ices that morning, which would have normally been followed by a lifeboat drill for passengers and crew, but on this day, there was no drill...after all, the ship was “unsinkable.” As for the lifeboats, Titanic’s owners were so certain that the ship would
Made with FlippingBook Converter PDF to HTML5