Ninety-nine years ago this week, the unsinkable ship sank and some 1,500 passengers died. I've got my boarding pass for the Titanic. For real. They gave it to me at the entrance to a Titanic artifacts exhibit I went to. Except it doesn't have my name on it. It says "Mr. J. Pearse, Crew." Having the name of someone who was really there that night made what I saw a whole lot more personal.
That really hit home at the end of the tour when I stood staring at a large wall with two lists. They were reminiscent of the lists they posted after the tragedy in the White Star Line's Liverpool, England offices. As anxious relatives waited to hear the fate of a passenger they loved, a company rep would add names to one of two lists: "Known to be saved" and "Known to be lost." My guy, "J. Pearse," was saved. Friends who also saw this exhibit turned out to be "lost."
The haunting images of that mighty ship going down are pretty indelible in my mind. But so are those two lists. Because everyone I know - everyone reading this - is also on one of two lists. "Known to be saved." "Known to be lost." Not "rich" or "poor"...not "liberal" or "conservative"...not "Religion X" or "Religion Y" - just "saved" or "lost."
God makes it so plain: "God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life (saved); he who does not have the Son of God does not have life (lost)" (1 John 5:11-12). If you have Jesus, you're rescued from the death penalty for your sins and you've got heaven. And God says if you don't have Jesus, you don't have heaven.
Because that "saving" came at a very high price that only the Son of God could pay. It meant Him doing the dying for all my sinning. Going through my hell so I - and you - could go to His heaven.
The great news of Good Friday and Easter is that you can change lists! In Jesus' words, "Whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life; he has crossed over from death to life" (John 5:24). I love the definite sound of those words, "has eternal life." Not hopes to have. Has. A done deal. We can know for sure - right now - that if we died today, we would go to heaven. Eternal life insurance. No fear.
If you know some folks who are still outside the lifeboat, you have nothing more urgent to do than "rescue those who are being led away to death" (Proverbs 24:11).
If you're not sure you've given you to Jesus, you have nothing more urgent to do than "believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31).
It's amazing to be saved. It's awful to be lost.