Of Shipwrecks and Sin

I have long been amazed at the grace and beauty of the old wooden sailing vessels. Few things in this world compare to the splendor of one of those old ships with all of its sails deployed. And few images are as striking as the image of that old sailing vessel enduring the ferocious wind and riding the fury of the waves. The marvel of it all, in my mind, is that they were built with nothing more than rudimentary tools and raw wood. Years of labor, many acres of hardwood, and centuries of hard earned knowledge went into the crafting of those mighty sailing vessels of old. When the work was finally finished the majestic thing that sailed away from the shipyard was more than just a boat, it was a floating work of art, a weapon of war and a tool of trade.

With the striking beauty and majesty of the seafaring ship, there must have been nothing more tragic, in ancient times, than the horror of a shipwreck. I recently read the story of a Swedish Warship, the Vasa, that was shipwrecked on her maiden voyage in 1628. Three years of steady labor, 40 acres of hardwood, tons of cargo and weaponry -- all lost just a few hundred yards from the shipyard. After firing her farewell salute, the Vasa was struck by a brief storm with strong cross winds and she listed heavily to one side. The gun ports were still open and they sank below the water level. In just a moment of time, the ship was flooded and took only minutes for her to sink.

The water was relatively clear and only a 100 feet deep where she sunk, it was said that her masts and deck were somewhat visible below the surface of the water. What a tragedy! This remarkably beautiful vessel, the product of long years of hard work, the pride of her King's fleet, now lay at rest on the ocean floor. Until she settled into the mud and silt on the ocean floor and finally fell into the obscurity of the ocean, every ship that sailed in and out of the shipyards could see the majesty of the Vasa caught in the cold wet fingers of the deep. I have no doubt that many a sailor looked upon that stricken ship as on of the greatest tragedies of his time.

With all of its masterful handiwork the ship below the waves was a constant testimony to unfulfilled potential. It was built to master the wind, yet they watched as it shifted with the tides. It was crafted to ride the waves, yet it lay buried in the deep. Below the waterline, eerily visible through through the deep, the ship was a hollow reminder of what could have been. Oh the battles that might have been won! Oh the mighty voyages that might have been undertaken! Oh the glory and fame that might have been claimed. The hopes and dreams of years of craftsmen were held captive by the dismal grave of the deep.

Paul, in the opening chapter of his first letter to Timothy, said that some have made a shipwreck of their faith. What a dreadful word picture, shipwrecked faith! Faith that was once full of potential. Faith that was once full of dreams and hopes. Faith that has now been relegated to the graveyard of the deep. It is a terribly illustrative statement of a life that was once full of faith but is now just a hollow shadow of what it once was. It represents the greatest tragedy of the ages. Lives that were were molded for some greater undertaking, hearts that were called for a higher purpose, people that somehow got sidetracked along the way and now lie shipwrecked in the oceans of life. What a tragedy!

The pertinent question is how does one shipwreck their faith? Paul says that they did it by rejecting a good conscience. Ships were built to be the master of the seas. Barring some flaw in the workmanship, they aren't very fragile or easily capsized. As a matter of fact, in most cases one has to ignore some critical realities in order to wreck one of those mighty vessels. Somewhere in the makings of the tragedy of a shipwreck are the sailors who failed to close the gun ports, or the navigator who ignored the depth readings. somebody failed to heed the warning signs and sailed their vessel into treacherous waters.

The same is true for those that shipwreck their faith. Faith is shipwrecked when a good conscience is ignored. Faith is shipwrecked when an individual ignores the warning signs and chooses to proceed through treacherous waters. In order to shipwreck your faith, Paul said, you've got to ignore the innate sense of right and wrong that God has placed in your heart. In order to shipwreck your faith you've got to turn a deaf ear to that small still voice of warning that speaks to your heart. That's the real tragedy of shipwrecked faith -- it isn't accidental. No one intended to end up shipwrecked but the master of the vessel ignored all warnings and recklessly ventured into waters that were known to be dangerous.

When you ignore your conscience the result is always sin. And sin, my friend, is the offensive obstacle that does devastating damage to faith. It is sin that strikes the life below the waterline and results in shipwrecked faith. You can't afford to flirt with sin. You can't afford to play with sin. You can't afford to give place to sin in your life. Because, inevitably, sin will sink you. If you ignore the warnings of your heart, if you press on beyond the comfort of your convictions, sin will devastate your faith. And, when it is finished it will leave behind the sad tragic evidence of a shipwrecked, that empty shell of lost potential and forgotten dreams.

Thankfully, shipwreck doesn't have to be the end of the story. After 333 years in the deep, the Vasa was hauled from the water in pretty good condition. Because of where she sank and the very unique conditions of the water where she came to rest, the ship was, against all odds, preserved by the very water that had claimed her. Instead of rotting the old timbers of oak heartwood, which had a high iron content, were largely preserved. It took 6 years to raise her from the ocean floor and bring her to dry dock but, eventually, a massive restoration project began. Very few ships are as fortunate as the Vasa, very few find life again after the watery grave of shipwreck. But the Vasa will stand as a testimony through time that shipwreck doesn't have to be the end of the story.

In the case of shipwrecked faith, just as in the story of the Vasa, there exists a hope of restoration. There is an answer for sin. Paul declared a few verses later that Christ Jesus gave himself a ransom for all. There is hope today for hurting hearts and shipwrecked faith. Jesus, by his blood, has made a way, where there seemed to be no way, that faith can be restored and hearts can be made brand new. Sin may result in shipwreck, but mercy can lead to the restoration of the soul. I am reminded this morning of the hope that is found in redemption. By the grace of God, even shipwrecked faith can sail again...