The Voyage Of Our Life

Ships which sail for years with a great captain at the helm have many stories to tell in her lifetime. Voyages to unknown lands, or pillaging performed by buccaneers, corsairs, or pirates fill books, fiction or non fiction. But there is more to the life-span of a ship than the amount of time it spends cresting the waves. Her stories go deeper… under water.

“Shipwrecks have long served preachers as an analogy for human condition, because it is not until we see our lives as corrupted, and act correctly upon this knowledge that new life from outside of ourselves can take up residence in us." --Anonymous

The great ship has died, her life above the water has ended and her sails no longer furl in the wind. Her life begins anew, and naught but the still and silent marine life give praise to her beauty as a home. Where once mighty masters lashed themselves to her strong helm now only small and distant life-forms dwell inside. But there is a far greater meaning to this beloved ship now that it rests on the ocean’s floor. Much like our earthly bodies, this ship held many a drunkard or thief. Inside this small wooden home dwelt sin and corruption, and daily it was being washed over with the footsteps and the handprints of those vile humans. The lovely ship was slowly beginning to be looked upon as something worthless. The outsiders who knew what dwelt inside cared no more for the beauty on the outside, and eventually only the master of the ship (and sin) and his followers would set foot inside. After years of labour through sin this ship which was so beautiful on the outside, died while out at sea. The sinful men inside had no where to look to for safety and eventually drowned in the ocean’s current. The lovely ship gave up her hold on the life outside and sank to bottom. This ship is now cleansed of her sinful state, and the washing of the ocean’s water continues to cleanse her daily. Now all that dwells inside the truly beautiful wooden body are sinless beings, the marine life that God has created.

If we will let go of the worldly pleasures in this life and “sink” into the strong hands of Christ then that sinful being that we once were will be washed from our body. But to be cleansed daily as the ship now is we must wash our body in much of the same way. Daily we must delve our minds in the Word, washing what grime may come into our bodies away. Much like this beautiful ship we now have something new living in our body; this is the sinless Holy Spirit. Many of the outsiders view this ship as ugly and twisted, and they may never see the true beauty that lies within. We cannot allow the world to pull us back up out of the water, only to bring us back into the sinful state that we once were. Thankfully though, the Word of God tells us that once we are saved from our sins we can never be pulled back up out of the cleansing water. Just like the ship must be wary of strange divers entering her beloved walls, we too must watch ourselves so that no temptation enters in.

“Her life is over; new life has invaded her from the outside. All her efforts to protect herself have long ended and her twisted frame now serves as a vessel not to accomplish her own plans, but to contain the lives of others.” --Anonymous

“When the great Captain is at the helm, we need not nervously pace the deck!” –Anonymous