Lake Erie is a huge stretch of water at 241 miles long by 57 miles wide and 210 feet in depth at its deepest point. It is the fourth largest of North America’s five Great Lakes and the eleventh largest in the world. It can be navigated safely and yet it has over 2000 shipwrecks of all sizes. There are many coastlines with hidden dangers that have claimed thousands of ships and their crews. The reasons are many and various – poor navigation, boiler explosions, water spouts, lightning, hurricanes, pirates and even insurance fraud! If you liken your faith to a ship, how seaworthy would you say it is? Have you come close to hitting the rocks or ever felt like abandoning ship? Caring for the structure of the ship, use of accurate navigation charts and remaining alert to dangers are vital for making a safe voyage unlike the end of this rather sad small fishing vessel.
- ‘The channel is known only to the natives; so that if any stranger should enter into the bay without one of their pilots he would run great danger of shipwreck’ – Thomas More
- ‘It is better to meet danger than to wait for it. He that is on a lee shore, and foresees a hurricane, stands out to sea and encounters a storm to avoid a shipwreck’ – Charles Caleb Colton
The infamous sinking of The Titanic 15th April 1912 was caused mainly by arrogance. It was thought to be invincible by the ship’s architect as it set out from Southampton to New York City for her maiden voyage. Four days later with Robert Hichens at the helm, insufficient care was taken to avoid icebergs and it sank two hours and forty minutes later after colliding with one leading to the death of over 1,500 people. The collision was unnecessary. People are fascinated with shipwrecks, sometimes seeking the treasures they carried or researching the stories behind the people who died. ‘Titanic’, the film released in 1997, went on to become the highest earning film up to that time, perhaps surprising with its epic length of 194 minutes. Although some would like to raise this shipwreck, it is too far gone and will continue to be no more than a macabre tourist attraction for divers. It’s a sad truth that there are those that like the sordid details behind a crisis of faith in others, perhaps even secretly being pleased that they have lost their way.
- ‘Continue to have faith and do what you know is right. Some people have rejected this, and their faith has been shipwrecked’ – 1 Timothy 1:19
You will know people who have lost their way and foundered on the rocks of temptation, despair and doubt. Some might be complete shipwrecks but others may have lost power needing a tug to be given a tow to a safer harbour. Others might have been boarded by pirates and taken hostage needing to be rescued as was vividly portrayed by Tom Hanks in the 2013 film ‘Captain Phillips’. This is a true story based on the 2009 Maersk Alabama hijacking by Somali pirates. It was a gripping film but showed how the ship was saved after drastic intervention. Sometimes this is what is required. The story Jesus told of the prodigal shows that he is very concerned for those who have lost their way and that restoration matters to him, both of faith and relationship.
- ‘Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing’ – 1 Thessalonians 5:11
- ‘And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching’ – Hebrews 10:24-25
- ‘We know what it means to respect the Lord, and we encourage everyone to turn to him. God himself knows what we are like, and I hope you also know what kind of people we are’ – 2 Corinthians 5:11
- ‘But we had to celebrate and be glad because this brother of yours was dead and is alive. He was lost and is found’ – Luke 15:32
Making it to ‘the other side’ is a challenge that is beset by many dangers to your faith. Are you someone who is needing encouragement for this part of your voyage in choppy waters? Perhaps you’re one more like a lifeboat with robust faith at this time and able to strengthen others who have let off their emergency flares. Either way, make the right call.
- ‘Therefore, we are Christ’s representatives, and through us God is calling you. We beg you on behalf of Christ to become reunited with God’ – 2 Corinthians 5:20
Don’t let your faith be shipwrecked – it is not meant to be a monument to false hopes and dreams like this pitiful little trawler. Feel the buoyancy of the ship with fresh sensitivity in your feet and let the living ship of faith be sure to carry you right through.