TDIH- The Titanic Sinks
Written by eric francke   
Wednesday, 15 April 2009

This Day in History-  The Sinking of the Titanic

On this day in 1912, the one of the greatest maritime disasters took place with the sinking of the RMS Titanic after striking an iceberg in the North Atlantic.   

At nearly 900 feet long, and fitted with every luxury, it was considered a floating palace as it cruised on its maiden voyage from Southampton England to New York.   Over 1,500 people lost their lives when she sank.

One of the most tragic aspects of the sinking that is largely overlooked is that when the collision with the iceberg occurred, there was another large ship within 10 miles that could have very easily come to her aid and effected a rescue.   The Californian had stopped in the water just a few miles away, close enough to see the lights on the Titanic.  The crew of the Californian even saw the distress flares shot from the Titanic, but thought that they were just shooting off fireworks.

The radio operator of the Californian had turned off the radio at midnight and went to sleep, right at the time the Titanic was broadcasting an S.O.S. message.  While the Titanic slowly took on water for the next two hours, the Californian continued on its course, and disappeared over the horizon, while the Titanic disappeared under the icy water.  

As Christians, we have been committed with a mandate to hold out the word of life to a world in distress.  For those who receive the Gospel, the Bible tells us that those individuals are rescued from the kingdom of darkness, and brought into the security of God’s Kingdom. ( Col. 1:13).  

We have the means to effect a “rescue”.  The real problem frequently is that we don’t recognize the spiritual distress of those around us.   We live in a society filled with people who live without meaning or purpose, who have become accustomed to living in a state of hopelessness, and will eventually pass on to a Christ-less eternity.  We may even see the signal flares of their distress, but keep on going on our own charted course.  

We are not going to be held responsible for the spiritual well-being of everyone in the world, but what about those who we interact with every day?  How about those we are close to?   Do we recognize their spiritual need for Christ, and are we willing to make the effort that they might be saved?

There was a ship that did hear the Titanic’s distress call and steamed through the dangerous icy waters to pick up survivors.  That was the Carpathia.  They captain of that ship has left a legacy of heroism and bravery, although he was too late to save the 1500 that went into the water.   The captain of the Californian, however, has earned the ignominy of being the person that could have saved the passengers of the Titanic, but didn’t.   Our actions or inactions can earn us either similar accolades, or shame.