The ship’s captain had a tough decision to make. With over 1,000 passengers who paid to go to St. Martin Island in the Caribbean, should he take them to their destination, or should he go back and search for her body?
He decided to turn the ship around and search for her body. Angry passengers protested after it was announced the ship would not dock at St. Martin due to time lost because of the search. Since she couldn’t swim, they argued, there was no need to look for her.
The captain calculated the currents would have caused her body to drift 4 miles off the original path. After back-tracking their path for over 4 hours, passengers gathered on the deck to look for a floating body.
It's extremely difficult to spot someone in the water due to the sea’s waves and white caps, but against all odds, a passenger spotted her head above the water—and she was still alive! She had taught herself to dog-paddle for 10 hours, even though she didn’t know if the ship would return looking for her.
Now, let’s change perspectives and see it through this woman's eyes. Imagine how frightened she felt after plunging into the water without a life preserver, and watching the lights of the ship disappear into the night. She’s in total darkness, hundreds of miles from shore. She frantically splashes around, trying to teach herself how to dog-paddle. Think how terrified she was, realizing she will probably drown due to exhaustion or eaten by a shark in the pitch dark. Her ONLY hope is to pray for a miracle—that the ship will return and somehow find her.
Imagine her excitement when the sun comes up and she sees a ship coming to rescue her! But, what would have happened to her if the captain had caved in to the angry passengers’ protests and taken them to St. Martin instead?
This incredible rescue is an illustration of being saved by God's grace. Spiritually, we’ve fallen overboard and we’re treading water in a sea of sin. If we go under, we will descend into hell forever. We can't save ourselves any more than that woman lost at sea could save herself. But then, Jesus comes searching for you. He said, “The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).
All we can do is cry out in desperation, “Jesus, please save me!” He will rescue your soul for all eternity. "Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved." (Rom. 10:13) www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com www.makinglifecount.net
VIDEO TEACHING OF THE WEEK Each week I will post a new video teaching of a Bible teacher that I respect. This week is Pastor Josh Howerton teaching on “Is Hell Eternal?” (Click to watch)
