The story of the Titanic has always fascinated me. I have always been drawn to knowing more information about the sinking of that great ship. It was designed by proud architects who said it couldn't sink. It was built by a proud ship builder who said it couldn't sink. It had a proud captain who said it would never sink. And most of the passengers believed it couldn't sink.
We all know what happened to the Titanic on her maiden voyage across the Atlantic Ocean on that night in the winter of 1912. It still lies two and a half miles below the lonely waves of the North Atlantic in an icy grave along with hundreds of lost souls.
The reality of this great ship being mortally damaged and taking on hundreds of thousands of gallons of frozen salt water in such a short time brings up visions of total helplessness and unspeakable fear. Most of the people on board had plenty of time to contemplate their very inevitable deaths.
If you will stay with me for a moment I would like to use this classic ship sinking to illustrate something of greater importance. By the length of this little story you can see it won't take much of your time.
If you were on a ship which you knew was sinking, what would be the most important priority in your mind? Of course, you'd be looking for your LIFEBOAT! Any other priority at such a point would be absolute foolishness. Going back to your stateroom to get your favorite suit or dress would be idiotic! Calling your broker on the phone to trade stocks would fall into the category of stupidity!
On the Titanic the passengers also suffered from an awful delusion. Most of them could not be convinced that the ship was sinking and thus were in denial about the impending disaster which would swallow them up. Many of them danced on into the night, drinking champagne, while the fourth class passengers were drowning below decks.
Today it is getting more and more difficult to convince people that planet earth is sinking and humankind with it! It is so hard to persuade those I talk to that this world is perishing and all that we trust and hold on to so tightly will soon be flotsam and jetsam on the allegorical wave-swept sea.
Two thousand years ago one of the passengers on planet earth began to tell us that our world was perishing. He was so intent on convincing us that He suffered untold agony to demonstrate His sincerity and His conviction. Not only did He lay down His life for all the passengers, He rose from the dead and became the LIFEBOAT in Reality to rescue the perishing ones. He said that all who call on His Name would be saved from destruction!
Perhaps this is a good time for you to stop and think about your life. Has it ever occurred to you that something isn't quite right? Have you ever dwelled on your eternal future and what lies beyond the grave? Have you ever wondered what your purpose in this life actually is?
Too often people never stop to think about these matters. We seem to have gotten ourselves so busy and distracted running from one activity to another, from one stage of life to the next, to set aside time to consider our end and our purpose.
Jesus, that very Unique Passenger, said things that no other passenger on this great ship Earth ever said! He not only claimed to be God, but He demonstrated it with signs, wonders and miracles. He made statements that either prove Him to be a madman or the actual Creator God of the universe.
And along the way He told us that our world is judged and is going to be destroyed at a future date which He would not reveal. He is either completely and wholeheartedly truthful or He must be ignored with all due haste! There is no middle ground on this matter. The ship will either slip under the waves or it will continue sailing along with no problems.
Has anything I said to this point made any sense at all to you? Is there anything within you that even has the slightest agreement with what you've been reading?
Jesus said that His sheep would know His voice. Do you hear the voice of Jesus saying, "Listen, I am the Lifeboat you have been looking for!" In the Bible the word "perish" is used 120 times. It is used almost exclusively to describe the eternal loss and destruction of people who refuse to accept the "free gift" of God's salvation through faith in Jesus Christ's atoning death. He is telling us well in advance that the ship is going down and He has already placed us in the Lifeboat! He even tells us through Peter that, "God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9
Thank Him today for making such a wonderful provision for you. Thank Him for dying for you so that you don't have to "perish" for all eternity. Thank Him that He has given you His Life so that you can now live victoriously in the midst of what appears to be chaos and disaster! Thank Him that He has saved you for a purpose on this earth, while you grow in Him.
Turn from any unbelief that may exist concerning Jesus Christ. Ask Him to reveal Himself to you in such a way that brings you to complete trust in Him! To miss His gift and the life that follows would be a Titanic Loss dear reader.
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