A young boy was watching the loading of a big ship in England many years ago. As the crew got on the ship, he decided that he was going to go too. He was tired of school and tired of his foster home. This would be an adventure, and he had always wanted to go on an adventure. When nobody was looking, he got on the ship and hid. Soon the whistle blew, and the large cargo ship moved slowly out of the harbor for its long voyage, with him on it, a stowaway.
The ship had been out to sea for less than a day when the captain and all his crew wished they had never started the trip. They knew before they left port that a tropical storm was approaching. But now the storm had increased in strength and had become a hurricane. The young stowaway boy came out of hiding. He was very sick and very scared. He also wished that he were back home, even back in school.
For hours the ship struggled against the huge waves. Then real problems developed. A leak allowed water to get into one of the ship’s engine rooms, which caused the ship to lose power. Then the steering gear broke, and the ship turned broadside to the waves. Wave after wave broke over the deck and leaked into the other engine rooms, flooding all of them. Now, everyone knew the ship was in real trouble. To make matters worse, it was being blown toward the rocks along the coast of Wales. Before the ship hit the rocks, they radioed an SOS and their position.
“Abandon ship! Abandon ship!” came the call from the captain.
Quickly, life jackets were handed out to each of the crew, and the lifeboats were lowered. One by one the crew jumped into the churning waters and were pulled into lifeboats. Everyone had forgotten about the stowaway — everyone, that is, except the captain. When the crew was all safe in the lifeboats, he went to find the boy. He found him, crying, in one of the
ship’s cabins.
The captain put his own life jacket on the boy, and then lifting him up carried him to the railing of the ship. Still holding the boy, the captain jumped into the raging seas just as a huge wave broke over the ship. The force of the wave tore the boy from the captain’s arms and swept them both away from the lifeboats. The sailors, rowing as hard as they could, were able to rescue the boy. But the captain, without a life jacket, drowned. The kind, brave captain gave up his life to save the stowaway boy.
What was it about the stowaway that brought out the kindness of the captain? The boy shouldn’t have been on the ship at all, and he really deserved to be punished. It was the kindness of the captain’s heart that saved the boy’s life.
Let’s stop a minute and look at the cross of Calvary. There the Lord Jesus Christ gave Himself to die for sinners. “Greater love [has] no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:1313Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)). By suffering on the cross for our sins, He has made the way for us to enter heaven. Even though we are sinners who deserve death because of our sins, if we believe on the Lord Jesus, we are no longer seen as sinners. We are seen as worthy to one day enter God the Father’s home, which is heaven.
If the boy had refused the captain’s lifebelt, he would have drowned. If you refuse God’s gift of salvation, you will be lost forever. Accept His salvation now, and you will be in heaven with the Lord forever.
Messages of God’s Love 1/8/2023