The Titanic

The mighty Titanic was sinking! Despite the arrogance of those who sailed her and the boast of them who cruised aboard in luxury, she was sinking! Outwardly this vessel appeared to be invincible, but upon meeting an iceberg which ripped a 300-foot gash in the ship’s hull, her mortality became clear. Some heard the starting news and fled for refuge. Some, at the sight of explosions and flooding on board, sought means of escape. Still others knew their inevitable destiny, but for fear or other reasons, clung to the portion of the ship still afloat hoping against hope. Others heard the news yet took the warnings as fictitious. Their reactions, whether in belief or unbelief, left the fact unaltered — the Titanic was sinking!

What was the Titanic? To some of the people on board, the ship was the object of their employment, a means to make a living. To some it was security, a means to arrive at a new destination safely. To some it was a pleasure cruise. To others, it was a luxury liner, a place for the elite. But to everyone aboard it quickly turned into a floating coffin and a submerged tomb.

The tragedy of that event is haunting, although perhaps far removed from our own daily life. Yet, on the other hand, the story is very close to us. Is not every man a Titanic, a ship suspended "above water" sailing into the fulfillment of our untold biography? Presently our ship "may be" sailing quite well. But as surely as the coming of night, this ship will sink. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe next week. Maybe not for another twenty years. But inevitably, it will sink. The certainty is alarming yet unavoidable. Our "ship" will sink because it is temporal, made up of hopes, dreams and pleasures which vanish in the using.

So where is hope? To what may we hold? In what can we have trust and security? Our experience of life and human history itself irrefutably proves the transience of every "ship". Therefore we must grasp something which is eternal, something which remains above the water after all has sunk.

Only one element in the universe is eternal - God. We are not eternal, but we can receive God, the eternal life, into us. This is God’s solution to every "sinking ship". God Himself, as the eternal life, must fill the damaged vessel with Himself, thus malting the vessel a part of eternity. The life of God, found in Jesus Christ, is eternal in duration and in quality. The life of God is firm, sure and indestructible.

 Please note that we are not talking about some future life in the "sweet by-and-by." We are not talking about. going to heaven. We are talking about receiving the very life of God Himself, whose power and reality transcends that of every sinking ‘ship’. The experience of eternal life is for now. It can be ‘possessed by us today through Jesus Christ.

Let us pray.- Lord Jesus, ‘I know the things in which I hope, trust and take pleasure in are passing away. I know they are temporal I know that I am temporal I desire to receive You as my eternal life. Fill me with Yourself so that I may experience the malefaction and security of the life which is eternal. Amen.