Idaho faith: Our ‘ship’ is listing. We must turn to Christ, the one who can save us.

Four days into her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, the “unsinkable” RMS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic, 370 miles southeast of Newfoundland, in the early morning hours of April 15, 1912, just two hours and 40 minutes after striking an iceberg. The largest ocean liner in service at that time had an estimated 2,224 people on board, and more than 1,500 of them perished in one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history.

The Titanic received six warnings of sea ice on April 14, but it was traveling at 22 knots, near top speed. The ship was not able to avoid a glancing starboard blow that tore open six of her 16 compartments. The damage was too extensive, and the crew suddenly realized the ship would sink. They put out distress flares and radio messages to nearby ships as passengers were put into the 20 lifeboats on board.

Poor management of the evacuation plan sent many lifeboats away before they were completely full. Almost all of those who jumped or fell overboard either drowned or died within minutes, a result of the frigid water. There were more than 1,000 passengers and crew still aboard when the ship sank 12,500 feet beneath the calm surface of the sea.

Later investigations revealed that the ship did not suffer one large gash, but several smaller ones that extended about 300 feet along the ship’s hull. But each gap opened the ship’s side, where water was pouring in 15 times faster than it could be pumped out. After a valiant effort to secure the ship, the crew quickly realized the vessel was doomed. The rescue efforts were then too little and too late.

I think the Titanic is symbolic of what we are experiencing today. We are a culture that has arrogantly continued to travel full speed in disobedience and in spite of the repeated warnings of Scripture. After all, we think we are smart enough that we don’t need God for direction through the dangers of history. Officially, we have taken prayer out of our public schools, wantonly taken the lives of our babies, betrayed our marriage partners, and thrown off the restraints of law and order. Each violation of God’s moral code has opened a breach in the “hull” of our safety, and the waters of judgment are pouring in!

I am grateful for every sincere attempt to tape up the gaps and stem the tide in an effort to save the culture from complete collapse. But we have crossed the “tipping point” where decency is being drowned by filth. All our mandates are an attempt to save us so we can live in a world that is quickly taking on water. At this point, it doesn’t matter who is the president or captain, or who are the first class passengers on the ship. Why are we jockeying to sit at the head of the table in the ornate board room? Our Titanic is sinking!

When the passengers realized their true fate aboard the Titanic, their only concern was to find one of the pitifully few lifeboats that provided their only hope of survival. In our sinking world, there is only one source of hope, one lifeboat, one savior, who is Jesus the risen Christ. He said he came into the world to save people from “perishing” (John 3:16). He also boldly proclaimed that he was the only one who could save us (John 8:24; 14:6).

You might think his claim as the only savior was an exaggeration, but are you willing to take a chance that another lifeboat will come along – with the “ship” listing to the starboard so drastically?