“Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved." ~ Acts 16:31
A Scottish evangelist, John Harper
was well known throughout the U.K. as a charismatic speaker who led many to
Christ through his passionate preaching.
In 1912, Rev. Harper received an invitation to speak at Chicago’s Moody
Church and boarded the Titanic on April 11th.
While some of world’s richest people spoke of business
deals, acquisitions and material desires, the man of undying faith went about sharing
his love of Christ with others.
Near midnight on April 14th, an iceberg scraped
the ship's starboard side, ripping open six watertight compartments. As the
sea poured in, chaos ensued. The
"unsinkable" ship was doomed.
Quickly, Harper took his six year old daughter to lifeboat
11. He kissed her good-bye knowing he’d
never see her again. It’s reasonable to
assume that the widowed preacher could have easily gotten into the same
lifeboat; but it never seemed to have crossed his mind.
He knew there was a task more important than saving his own
life – to help those who were unprepared to face eternity.
Harper gave his life jacket to another passenger, ending any
chance of his own survival. He shouted,
"Women, children and “unsaved” people into the lifeboats." Against a backdrop of terror and mayhem,
Harper focused on his God-given purpose. Survivors reported seeing him on his knees,
surrounded by terrified passengers, praying for their salvation.
“Are you saved?” he cried.
“No, I’m not saved!” a desperate man replied.
Harper, knowing he couldn’t survive long in the ice-cold
water, took off his life jacket and threw it to the man. “You need this more than I do!”
In the water, Harper moved sluggishly as the frigid water
wore him down. If they weren't saved or
if they didn't understand, he quickly offered the Christmas message: that Jesus
came to earth to die that we might live eternally. This Gospel doesn’t spare us from a drowning
ocean, but it does spare us from eternal damnation.
Eventually, John Harper too sank beneath the icy
waters. While other people were trying
to buy their way onto lifeboats and selfishly trying to save their own lives,
John Harper gave up his life so that others could be saved.
There, alone in the night with two miles of water below him,
the desperate man, the recipient of Harper’s life vest begged Christ to save his
soul. He was John Harper's last convert;
one of only six people out of 1,517 who were pulled from the icy graveyard on
that dreadful night.
Holy Father, I believe that your son, Jesus
Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my
prayer. I want You to become the Lord of
my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Amen
