Many times the steel hull of The Katia had plowed the waves of the Atlantic carrying her heavy freight to various ports. One wintry November morning she sprung a leak in her port side. In the high waves the cold Atlantic water gushed through the steel sides of the ship mercilessly. The twenty-seven member crew couldn't stop the flood of water which poured in; the ship's pumps were not equal to the task. The weight of water in the ship soon caused it to lean heavily to one side, to "list" as seamen call it. The crew began to fear the ship would roll at any minute.
They saw the hopelessness of the situation and called for help. They realized that if they were to be saved it could only be by help from someone else.
The same is true of all men in a spiritual sense. Until men realize the hopelessness of self-reform, or of earning the favor of God by good works, until they learn the extreme danger they are in of passing into a Christless eternity, they will not understand the importance of coming to Christ as the only one who can save.
For those of you who read this and haven't yet felt any serious conviction for the sins you have committed, you need to be warned: God holds you personally responsible for your sins. Sin is incompatible with God's holy nature. Should anyone die in his sins without Christ, God will put that person away from Himself forever—far away in dark regions where all is misery.
But there is good news; it is God's good news for you and all people. What is it? It is God sending His Son into this world and going to the cross to die in the sinner's place. Through the death of His Son, God has made a way by which He can put away the sins of everyone who simply believes on the name of Jesus.
The twenty-seven men from The Katia were rescued, by a helicopter, from the deck of the sinking ship. As they set foot once more on solid ground in Halifax, Nova Scotia, they were all grinning widely— happy to be saved. If you receive Christ as the Lord and Savior of your life, you will be saved too—saved for eternity.
Sometimes people complain that they "don't feel any different," "they don't feel saved." God's Word doesn't say, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt feel saved." No, it says, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." The Bible doesn't promise us instant happiness when we are saved. Our salvation depends on faith, not feelings.
What it does promise is life everlasting with Him in heaven, where the joy of those who have received Christ will be perfect and eternal. The effect of seeing Him face to face will call from their hearts "one eternal burst of praise" because of the joy they feel when they see their Savior at last.
Yes, the seamen smiled brightly when they reached safety, but their joy can't begin to compare with the joy of a believer when he is taken home to glory and sees his Savior face to face!
Don't miss heaven because your eyes and heart are glued to the things of this world. Turn your eyes away and look toward the cross of Calvary—look toward eternity—lift up your eyes and look toward the glory where Christ is sitting on the right hand of God.
Time will end, but eternity—NEVER.