A Century Apart: a tale of two ships

This video came out of a visit to Germany we made in April 2012.  We took the Stena Line service across the North Sea from Harwich to Hoek van Holland.   April 2012 was a significant date as it was the centenary of the maiden voyage and sinking of the Titanic as a result of striking an iceberg.  Both ships are passenger ships, the Hollandica so 20,000 tonnes larger.   One is now at the bottom of the Atlantic - the other a regular traveller across the North Sea.  What can we learn from them?

Titanic was the largest passenger ship of her day.   The name Titanic was given to convey the sheer size of the vessel - preferred over the less grand name first suggested: Gigantic.   The ship reflected her age - one where human beings were gaining mastery over nature - in this case the construction of a ship so large no-one thought that there was anything that could cause it to sink; particularly as it contained the latest in ship safety technology.   There weren't even enough liferboats to carry all occupants of the ship to safety

The voyage turned out to be a catalogue of unexpected events, human error, poor seamanship, construction failings and just plain complacency.   1572 people died as a result.   The disaster laid the foundation for modern safety at sea,   As the video shows, this does not stop deaths or sinking of vessels.  It's not possible to factor out all human failing and unforseen environmental conditions.

The Stena Hollandica builds on previous tragedies to include the latest safety features, but no-one is stupid enough today to suggest that this vessel, larger than Titanic can never or will never sink.  But at least modern regulations make people more conscious of what can go wrong and make provision for it.   Deaths from passenger ship disasters are rare in comparison to motor accidents and even air disasters.    Taking any journey involves risk, but at least its possible to measure what that risk is in many cases.

Life is a journey.  It's a trip into the unknown: to a place we've never been before.   Travelling blind can be very dangerous - like driving or sailing into thick fog.    However, in life, there is someone who knows the way, who's been there before who can be our guide; and that's Jesus.   He's lived life as a human being, died a horrible death and was raised to life.   He knows about life, about death, about eternity.   He wants us to follow him.  He once said "I am the way, the truth and the life, no-one comes to the Father but by me."

So why continue to travel blind?   Why not ask Jesus to come into your life today?