‘These things happened…as…warnings for us…’ 1 Corinthians 10:11 NIV
Scientists now believe it was a series of slits, not one large gash, that sank the Titanic. In 1912, in history’s worst maritime disaster, the luxurious the 270-metre long ocean liner sank on its first voyage from England to New York, killing 1,500 passengers and crew. It was widely believed that the ship hit an iceberg, which opened a huge gash in its side, but an international team of divers and scientists used sound waves to probe the wreckage through deep mud four kilometres below the surface. They discovered that the damage was surprisingly small. Instead of a huge gash, they found six relatively narrow slits across the six watertight holds. ‘Everything that could go wrong, did,’ said William Garzke Jr, a naval architect who helped the team with their analysis. So, what sank the Titanic? Four things—things that could sink you too! (1) They thought it couldn’t happen to them. (2) They were ‘asleep at the wheel’ and failed to give their attention to five different warnings. (3) It wasn’t one big thing, but a series of small things that took them under. (4) What finally destroyed them was hidden beneath the waterline, out of sight. The Bible says, ‘These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us… So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!’ (1 Corinthians 10:11–12 NIV) Not one of us, however strong, wise, successful or virtuous, is immune to failure. So stay close to God!
SoulFood: 2 Cor 1–4, Luke 22:63–71, Ps 39, Pro 21:9–13
The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright ©