Volume 27, Issue 1
WisconsinChristianNews.com
Page 7
God’s Lifeboat... (Continued from Page 3)
Disaster struck the Titanic at 11:40 pm, April 14, 1912, as she collided with the ice- berg. Two hours later, she slipped beneath the sea, and has rested in a watery grave ever since...slowly disinte- grating and disappearing into rust and dust. When the unthinkable be- came obvious, Captain Smith ordered the crew to ready the lifeboats. But passengers were reluctant to leave the comfort of the gigantic ship for a 70-foot drop down to the dark ocean in a small, wooden boat. Even though there were only lifeboats enough for less than half those aboard, most left the ship more than half empty. The rule was “women and children first,” but many of the ladies refused to leave without their husbands, and had to be forcibly picked up and placed in the boats. Families were torn apart, as women and children bid farewell to their husbands and fathers, who were not al- lowed into the lifeboats. Many of the wealthy on board refused to leave with- out their valuables and went back to collect their belong- ings from their staterooms — and in so doing, lost their only chance at survival. They didn’t realize the danger, and preferred to remain with their earthly “treasures.” By the time the bow of the ship began to disappear be- neath the surface of the water, it was too late for most. Many of the third class pas- sengers remained trapped below decks, separated from the rest of the ship by locked gates. When some of these fi- nally made it to the boat decks, most of the lifeboats were gone — again, most launched more than half- empty — as hundreds re- mained on the ship with no hope for survival. Captain Smith, who was set to enjoy retirement after this last voy- age, went down with the ship. There are hundreds of in- spiring and heartbreaking stories that are told of Ti- tanic’s last moments...the band that kept playing until the end, to help calm the passengers and avoid a panic. The wealthy Mrs. Isador Strauss, who chose to stay and die with her hus- band, rather than leave with- out him. The hundreds who were left on board with all the lifeboats gone and no way to be rescued — women,
young children and families alike.
that there’s no need for a lifeboat. This is one of his greatest lies...not that there is no such thing as a lifeboat (God), but that there’s no rush, no sense of urgency. And that it’s much safer and more comfortable to stay aboard the ship of our own sinful desires, where we’re in “control.” It’s not just in- convenient — it’s scary — to put yourself in someone else’s hands and be lowered into a lifeboat that doesn’t look at all comfortable — or safe. But it really depends on Whose hands you’re talking about, doesn’t it? Even though we’re hope- lessly lost, with no way to save ourselves from eternal death, the Lord provided each and every one of us with a Lifeboat. The ship is going down, no question... “...it is appointed unto man once to die, and after this, the judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27). But like those on the Ti- tanic, people are still reluc- tant to get into the Lifeboat. They feel much more com- fortable where they are. They don’t realize they’re on a sinking ship, and the Lifeboat is the only way to be saved...it’s very simple: “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life...” (John 3:36). There are only two choices: Get in the boat and live, or don’t get in the boat and die. It’s not com- plicated. In THIS Lifeboat there are enough seats for all of us, yet it remains more than half empty. And the boat is open to all — no third-class passengers trapped below decks. At the cross, Christ unlocked the gates and brought freedom and salva- tion to all who will seek Him. And this isn’t just for women and children! “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13). In 1985, explorer Bob Bal- lard discovered the wreck of the Titanic, more than 12,000 feet beneath the ocean surface. Since then, exhibits of the ship’s re- mains have been available for the public to view. As a Titanic “fanatic,” I’ve been to many of those exhibits. I was even blessed to be present many years ago, when, at one of those mu- seums, they sounded one of the ship’s sirens, recovered from the wreck — and thou- sands heard the sound of
Titanic for the first time since 1912. In 1912, that very same whistle blew as she left port, in jubilance and cele- bration. Just a few days later, it blew as a dire warn- ing of impending doom.
Few heeded that warning then, and few heed God’s gracious and merciful call to mankind today. Email: Rob@WisconsinChristianNews.com Phone: (715) 486-8066
In all, 1,517 people died that night in the frigid waters of the North Atlantic. Only 706 survived. Survivors in the boats were haunted by the screams of dying people in the water — now beyond salvation — for the rest of their lives. The screams slowly faded away, leaving only the sounds of sobbing widows and crying, now fa- therless babies. When the sun rose the next morning, the survivors in the lifeboats had their first look at the harsh reality — hundreds upon hundreds of corpses, still wearing their life jackets, frozen to death or drowned. They were surrounded by icebergs, some more than 200 feet high. And Titanic, that symbol of man’s greatest achievement, was GONE. A great many awe-inspiring artifacts have been brought up from the site of the wreck...things that help to tell the story, and remind us of what happened that night. We’ve seen pieces of the ship, personal belongings, even letters, menus, deck chairs and tickets. But can we grasp the real story here? What can we learn from all this? We can learn to not trust in our wealth or the at- tractive things of this world...they’re only tempo- rary. Trusting in worldly pos- sessions is futile. After all, what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? The con- sequences of pride and arro- gance are always destruction. As Christians, charged with the great commission, we are the “Captains” here. For the sake of our “passengers” — those we’re called to witness to — we can’t skip the lifeboat drills. We need to ac- tively teach people there is a lifeboat (Jesus Christ) and lead them to it (by teaching the Gospel, and equipping them, as “crew members” for the work of the ministry). We must also reach out to the lost — those drowning in sin — and pull them into our boat. And we need to heed the iceberg warnings, and keep our ship on a safe course. We need to be sensitive to the “icebergs” of temptation and unrepentance, because our eternal lives, and those of our passengers are at stake.
WE PAY CASH FOR GUNS GUNS • AMMUNITION • OPTICS ARCHERY • FISHING
345 Main Street P.O. Box 190 Wild Rose, WI 54984 (920) 622-3312 TomLauritzen@yahoo.com HuntWildRose.com
We will also take your gun on trade!
Satan would have us be- lieve we’re “unsinkable,” and
Made with FlippingBook Converter PDF to HTML5