WHAT a raging storm! It was April 1886, and the little sailing ship, J. H. Lane, battled hopelessly against the roaring winds and crashing waves near the coast of Florida. Both masts were carried away and, driven by the wind and tide, she went aground on a reef.
Daylight found the ship broken up and her cargo, barrels of molasses, scattered up and down the shore. The eight men in the crew were in desperate condition. Worn out with their long struggle with the storm, they still faced death from exposure or starvation, even if they succeeded in reaching shore alive. At that time Florida was sparsely settled and there was little help to be expected.
But trained men had seen the debris, and they understood only too well what it meant. One man, Samuel Bunker, tied a line to himself and, with one end held by two others on shore, he waded out into the boiling surf to pull the exhausted sailors to shore.
Then what relief! Not only were the lives of seven of the men saved, but they were well cared for. They were given hot drinks, food, dry clothing and beds. After the long ordeal at sea, it must have seemed like a little taste of heaven to the rescued men.
Was it just a lucky break that the shipwrecked men were saved? By no means! Everything had been prepared beforehand. Ten years earlier the need had been seen, and all along that empty shore "houses of refuge" had been established. They were built for just such a shipwreck.
The houses, two-story wooden buildings, were stocked with food, clothing, and cots, and manned by live-in-keepers who were stationed there to give help to shipwrecked sailors. According to the log books, the men in the house on Hutchinson Island, to which the sailors were taken, went out on more than 34 rescues.
In the same way, when mankind made spiritual shipwreck through sin, God had His "refuge" prepared. The Lord Jesus came into the world and gave His life to atone for the sins of all those who will receive that atonement. That work completed, He rose from the dead and now lives forever. Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him.
Can you imagine those sailors refusing to be saved? It wouldn't make sense, would it? Nor does it make sense to refuse the salvation God now offers to all. It has all been accomplished by the Lord Jesus. Wouldn't it be wise to accept it now before your own life is lost in the storms that are rising in this world?