The S.S. Cyprian was just about to leave Liverpool docks. A young boy had been watching the loading of the big boat, and looked on with envy as the crew walked on board. He had long wanted to go to sea, and he didn’t like school at all. So when nobody was looking, he slipped on board and hid himself. Soon the whistle blew and the vessel began to steam out into the sea.
The Cyprian was not long out at sea when the captain and all his crew wished they had never started. A strong wind had been blowing when they left, and now it had turned into a real hurricane. The poor little stowaway boy came out of his hiding place, and he too wished he were back home—yes, even back at school!
For hours the ship struggled against the huge waves, and then suddenly one of the boiler tubes burst, and the fire went out. Then the steering gear was smashed, and the stricken boat turned broadside into the waves. Sea upon sea broke over the deck and into the engine room, putting out the last of the furnaces. All on board knew that the ship was drifting toward danger, and probable wreck, but there was nothing they could do. Suddenly the ship struck the rocks of the Welsh coast, and the captain shouted, “Every man for himself.”
Quickly the lifebelts were grasped and put on, and one by one the men jumped overboard into the raging waters. There were many people watching from the shore, but they could not help. At last the captain saw that all the rest of his crew was away, and he prepared to leave. At this moment he noticed the trembling little stowaway. Indeed he was a wretched looking fellow, soon to be left all alone on the sinking boat.
Quickly, the brave captain slipped off his own lifebelt and handed it to the lad saying, “I’ll try to swim. You take the belt.” Then the captain jumped into the water, and at the same time a wave lifted the stowaway up like a cork and swept him away from the boat.
Soon the lad was flung on the Welsh shore, battered but alive. But the captain couldn’t make the shore and he was seen no more.
What a noble deed! What a kind, brave captain!
What was there about the poor stowaway to commend him to the captain? He shouldn’t have been on that boat at all, and he really deserved to be punished, but the kindness of the captain’s heart not only forgave him, but spared his life.
Now, dear children, pause a moment and look with me at the cross of Calvary.
There the Lord and Saviour offered Himself up as a victim for sin. He opened wide the gates of heaven that we, poor guilty sinners, might enter the Father’s home forever.
If the drowning boy had refused the captain’s lifebelt, he would have perished. And if you refuse God’s offer of mercy, purchased by the blood of His beloved Son, you will be cast into an eternal hell. Accept His offer of mercy now and be eternally saved for heaven.
ML 07/29/1951