A sinking cruise ship only had time to send an S.O.S. before it went down. Thousands of passengers floated in the water and clung to the hope of being rescued. Then, when all seemed lost, a charter boat sailed into view. Soon its skipper and crew were throwing down lifelines and hoisting people safely onto the deck. However, time was running out and there were still so many who needed to be saved.
The skipper turned around and called out to those who had been rescued to lend a hand, but few bothered. Most were too busy getting themselves comfortable on the deckchairs – now that they were saved they only wanted to continue their cruise.
Are you cruising? Are you sitting back in a deck chair on the eternal cruise on the seas of life? If you are cruising and taking it easy, you are in dangerous waters. Waters that can turn to stormy seas in a matter of minutes. Not scared, not wanting to think about it? You have a lot of company then. In a time when we as believers need to be reaching out more than ever before, most are sitting in deck chairs and relaxing. Why? It could be that we have taken on the form of a lazy, self-centered group of people who want others (including Christ) to serve them. it could be that we have been lulled to sleep as this ole world rocks along in a rhythm that makes you drowsy in no time. It could be that we assume we aren't really needed to help others get on this ship to safety, or someone else will do it. It could be that you are not being challenged to step out of your own comfort zone and step into the work of God. Whatever it is, you aren't ready for the next storm, and storms are gonna come!! How will you respond when they do? S.O.S. We need help?
In Matthew 8 Jesus was testing those who said they wanted to be disciples. Before he headed out on the sea to go to the other side, a scribe came and said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go." Jesus said, "foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." Others continued to say they wanted to follow Jesus, but not knowing what that meant they walked away sad when challenged with the truth of what following Him meant. He continued on and got in a boat with the disciples following Him. Sometime later a storm came up and the disciples got scared and seeing Jesus was asleep, they woke Him up and said, "Save us, Lord; we are perishing." Jesus got up and rebuked the waves and proceeded to tell them they were men of "little" faith. Little faith. They did turn to Jesus for help....Not because they had faith. Because they were scared. Remember who was in the boat with them! Jesus, who they were following, who is the Son of God. They took their eyes off of Him and the security He brings and started reasoning that the waves were out of control. Little FAITH!
Back to the point....If you are cruising on the boat of life and taking it easy, and a storm comes up quickly and you get scared and wonder if there is any hope. Pretty soon a safe boat comes up and saves you and you get on board the ship that is secure and safe again. What will you do next? Will your fear of the storm drive you closer to Christ, or will you once again sit back and relax and refuse to save anyone else? If you are a cruiser, then you will sit back in your chair and fall back into your same bad habits. But, if you are a guardian, you are looking for others to save. Why? Because you know what it means to get to the point of going down in a storm and sending out an S.O.S. You know what it feels like to be "saved."
In the movie The Guardian, Kevin Costner's character knew that every time he went out on a run, it could be his last time. He was willing to give up his life to save others. In fact, he did give up his life and saved one more. No cruise ship chairs when he heard an S.O.S., but he sprang into action. That became his life.
When we receive Christ we get the "good life", you know, heaven and all it's perks, but there is one thing we should never forget. When we get saved, we start hearing and seeing all the S.O.S. signals and we have a choice. Sit back and let them drown, or reach out to all you can to bring them on board to safety. Christ wants us to be people who have the faith, and share the faith. Will you be that person??
S.O.S. I just heard another call for us "Guardians!" Let's go....
The Pilgrimage continues.....
David Warren
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