|
Twice Saved - A True Titanic Hero
To subscribe to this list,
http://www.breakpoint.org/script4.html
BreakPoint Commentary - April 14, 1999
Twice Saved - A True Titanic Hero
By Charles W. Colson
If you saw the movie "Titanic," you know much of what
took place 87 years ago tonight, when the ship that
even God couldn't sink, DID sink. Of the 1,528 people
who ended up in the icy water, only six were rescued.
But did you know that one of those six was actually
saved twice that night?
His story is an inspiring reminder that there's more
to life than mere survival.
To tell this man's story, though, I have to first
tell you about another man, a Scot named John Harper.
Harper, a minister of the Gospel, boarded the Titanic
with his six-year-old daughter, Nana. He planned to
travel to the Moody Church in Chicago, where he'd
been invited to preach for three months. When the
ship struck the fateful iceberg and began to sink,
Harper made sure his daughter was placed into one of
the lifeboats. He then began what would be the last
evangelistic work of his young life.
As the freezing waters began to fill the ship, Harper
was heard shouting, "Let the women, children and the
unsaved into the lifeboats." Survivors reported that
Harper took off his own life jacket and gave it to
another man. "Don't worry about me," he reportedly
said, "I'm not going down, I'm going up!"
When the ship began to sink, more than 1,500
passengers jumped or fell into the icy waters. As they
gradually drowned or froze to death, Harper was seen
swimming from one passenger to another, pleading with
them to accept Christ.
Only six of the 1,500 people struggling in the water
were later rescued, including a man who later
identified himself as Harper's last convert. This
young man had climbed up on a piece of debris.
Harper, who was struggling in the water near him,
shouted out, "Are you saved?" "No," the man replied.
Harper then shouted the words from Scripture:
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be
saved." The man did not answer, and a moment later he
drifted away on the waves.
A few minutes later, the current brought the two men
back together. Again Harper asked, "Are you saved?"
Once again, the answer was "no." With his dying
breath, Harper shouted, "Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ and thou shalt be saved." He then slipped
under the waves for the last time.
Then and there, the man he had witnessed to decided
to turn his life over to Christ. Four years later,
at a Titanic survivors meeting in Ontario, Canada,
this man tearfully gave his testimony recounting how
John Harper had led him to the Lord.
I don't need to tell you that this dramatic story
never made it into the movie. We live in a culture
that seems to be more interested in fictional stories
of romance, illicit sex, and priceless jewelry than
in the real romance between God and His people.
When the subject of the Titanic comes up, as it may
today on the eighty-seventh anniversary of the sinking,
tell your friends the story of the young Scottish
minister who witnessed to Christ with his dying breath.
And make sure your kids know the story a well. John
Harper reminds us of a great lesson, the secret of the
ages: that there's more to life than mere survival.
[The information for this BreakPoint commentary came
from the book "The Titanic's Last Hero" by Moody Adams
(The Olive Press, 1997). The testimonies in this book
were originally compiled in 1912 by John Climie of
Scotland.]
Copyright (c) 1999 Prison Fellowship Ministries
"BreakPoint with Chuck Colson" ("BreakPoint") is a
daily commentary on news and trends from a Christian
perspective. Heard on more than 1,000 radio stations
nationwide, BreakPoint transcripts are also available
on the Internet. If you know of others who would
enjoy receiving BreakPoint in their E-mail box each
day, tell them they can sign up on our Web site at
www.breakpoint.org. If they do not have access to
the World Wide Web, please call 1-800-457-6125.
Copyright notice: BreakPoint may be copied and re-
transmitted by electronic mail, and individual copies
of a particular BreakPoint E-mail transcript may be
printed, provided that such copying, re-transmission,
printing, or other use is not for profit or other
commercial purpose. However, BreakPoint may NOT be
reproduced in any form on the World Wide Web or in
broadcast media, print media or other media without
express written permission. Prison Fellowship
Ministries considers requests to reprint, transmit,
or otherwise reproduce BreakPoint (or portions
thereof) in broadcast, print, or other media on a
case-by-case basis; please contact Prison Fellowship
Ministries at 1-800-457-6125 to submit a request.
Any copying, re-transmission, distribution, printing,
or other use of BreakPoint must set forth the
following credit line, in full, at the conclusion of
the portion of BreakPoint that is used:
Copyright (c) 1999 Prison Fellowship
Ministries. Reprinted with permission.
"BreakPoint with Chuck Colson" is a radio
ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.
Prison Fellowship Ministries may withdraw or modify
this grant of permission at any time.
E-mail me at:
webmaster@1faith.zzn.com
|
Check Mail