On today’s date, April 14th, the majestic RMS Titanic would see the sunrise and sunset for the last time. When her 2,224 passengers awoke that Sunday morning, did they have any inkling what would befall them before this day is over? God tells us in James 4:14 that “you don’t know what your life will be like tomorrow.” That's His warning against presuming we're the captains of our own fate. We have no idea what our life will be like an hour from now, not to mention by tomorrow! One clear distinction between man and our Creator is this simple truth: the future is a mystery to us, but not to God. The Almighty is timeless. He is the "high and lofty One who inhabits eternity" (Isaiah 57:15).
The two lookouts on the Titanic were told to keep a keen eye for bergs. That's not an easy assignment. Can you imagine being up there in the crow's nest? It’s freezing cold, and dark, and the surface of the water is smooth like glass. This 'cold weather mirage' distorts how objects appear, and may explain why the outlooks were caught flat-footed. At 11:40 p.m., a massive iceberg slowly reveals itself, and the Titanic is moving too fast to avoid a collision. Less than three hours later, the world’s most spectacular ship sinks 2.5 miles down to the bottom of the Atlantic. Over 1,500 passengers were killed in what is probably the most famous shipwreak in history.
A few parallels come to mind between the Titanic disaster and our current situation. The first is - warnings were ignored. Between April 11th and April 14th, several vessels sent the Titanic a total of 21 ice warnings. The ship’s captain, as well as the ship’s owner, were both aware they were entering iceberg-infested waters. And even though Captain Smith steered south by some 20 miles, he didn’t take enough precautions to prevent the collision. Consequently, another generation is given a graphic example of what happens when warnings are ignored. An ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure. A brief moment of prudence can avert a major tragedy.
Secondly, the disaster impacted people differently, based on their economic and social status. The Titanic had enough lifeboats for about 52 percent of her passengers. Which means out of the 2,224 souls on the ship, at least 1,156 could have fit into the lifeboats. But when the collision occurred, everyone on board was shocked by this unthinkable mishap. Their response was slow, and only 710 people survived. The first-class passengers weathered the tragedy much better than the folks in third class. The first-class decks are higher on the ship, so the passengers there didn’t feel the initial collision the same way the people in the lower decks felt it. A striking example of the disparity is seen by the number of deaths. There were 325 first-class passengers and 706 third-class passengers on that maiden voyage of the Titanic. Only three percent of the women in first-class died, compared to 54 percent of the women in third class. They were all "in the same boat" but their experience on that boat was quite different.
A third parallel is the observable limitations of humans. The two lookouts on the Titanic were not able to see the iceberg until it was too late. If only they had night vision like that of a snowy owl to pierce the darkness. The temperature of the water that awful night was about 28 degrees, which is below freezing. Freezing water poses no threat to penguins and dolphins and sea turtles, but a human being in freezing water will die in less than 30 minutes. We are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14); but we are nonetheless frail creatures. A tiny virus, naked to the human eye, can wreak havoc on the human body. If it were not for the grace of God, and our ability to reason and detect patterns and figure things out, we would be in really bad shape.
The whole thing is so ironic. A chunk of frozen water that would have soon after dissolved into the Atlantic was responsible for taking down the largest, most luxurious ocean liner in the world. And today, many of the most powerful nations on earth have been brought low by a microscopic foe.
“Titanic, name and thing, will stand as a monument and warning to human presumption.” So said Edward Talbot, bishop of Winchester, the following Sunday at Southampton.
“If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering and to prosper; but if we and our posterity neglect its instructions and authority, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us and bury all our glory in profound obscurity.” ~ National Leader Daniel Webster
Grace, Peace and Jahspeed!
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