When the great Titanic left Southampton for the open sea and her never-to-be-completed maiden voyage, she represented man’s crowning technological achievement. To those who could pay the $4,350 for a one-way ticket, she provided unbelievable luxury in each first-class cabin. These passengers could enjoy hot and cold running water, the warmth of a coal-burning fireplace and the comfort of a magnificent four-poster bed. Every comfort was theirs. Within the great vessel was the first swimming pool ever to be installed on a ship. Four elevators were available for passenger convenience. A squash court, a gymnasium and a hospital were all available to serve as desired.
The list of first-class passengers read like a Who’s Who of the rich and famous. They were the reason the ship had been nicknamed “The Millionaires’ Special.” John Jacob Astor, who was the wealthiest, had gained his fortune through an inheritance from his grandfather and through his own astute business practices in the field of real estate. When his lifeless body was pulled from the 31-degree water of the North Atlantic, $2,500 in cash was found in his jacket pocket. His great wealth could not assure him of a safe arrival in New York. Also included on the list of millionaire passengers were the names of Mr. and Mrs. Isidor Straus. On the night of the tragedy, Mrs. Straus had placed her foot on the very edge of a lifeboat, only to draw it back, choosing to remain with her husband of many years rather than be separated from the man she loved. Their deep love for one another has assured their names being listed together forever as “Lost” when the Titanic took her fatal plunge.
Benjamin Guggenheim was returning to New York with his mistress. He was a member of the family that had made its wealth through copper smelting in the United States, gold mines in Alaska, tin mines in Bolivia and rubber plantations in Africa. The last that was seen of him on that memorable night was as he stood with his valet on the sloping deck resplendent in evening dress. He was determined his life would end with a “bit of class.”
Moments before the last lifeboat was lowered to the sea, he gave a note to a lady as she entered the lifeboat. It read, “Tell my wife I’ve done my best in doing my duty.”
On the list of those who perished were 1,517 names of the known and the unknown, the rich and the poor, the educated and the illiterate, but all met their common foe—death. John Jacob Astor, the Strauses, Benjamin Guggenheim and hundreds of others all had an appointment to keep. Of it the Bible says, “It is appointed unto men (regardless of class) once to die” (Hebrews 9:2727And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Hebrews 9:27)). Each of us should make certain we are ready to die. For we must die. It was George Bernard Shaw who said, “The ultimate statistic is, one out of one dies.”
Aboard the Titanic were more than 700 whose names were relatively unknown. They occupied the sparsely furnished third class cabins located deep in the cavernous hull of the great vessel. The single men of this group were located in the bow and the unattached young ladies were in the stern. Families were located at the same low level, but in the mid-section of the ship. Many of the young men located in the bow of the vessel were among the first to realize the seriousness of the Titanic’s encounter with the iceberg when the waters of the Atlantic invaded their cabins. Fortunately, valor was not limited to the elite on the upper decks for many of the young men of the third-class group immediately ran to the stern of the ship to help young ladies who were traveling alone. Their bravery equaled the heroism of notables on the upper decks.
The great Titanic, with its precious human cargo of 2,223 passengers, carried people of every age and level of society. On that memorable night, social standing, wealth, and position were unimportant. Much of the wealth of the prosperous was locked away in the safety deposit boxes in the Purser’s Office and would go to the bottom of the Atlantic with the ship and all she held. On the night of April 14, 1912 all on board had one common need—salvation from a sinking vessel and the frigid Atlantic. Almighty God sees all men and women on the voyage of life in the very same way. They, too, all need a Savior in their spiritually lost condition. Many have heard the warning that danger and destruction are ahead if one dies without the Savior. God’s solemn warning is in the Bible’s book of Job chapter thirty-six and verse eighteen where we read, “Because there is wrath, beware lest he take thee away with His stroke: then a great ransom cannot deliver thee.” For some on the Titanic there would be rescue and salvation, while others would lose not only life itself, but also their hope of going to heaven. As you quickly travel through life on your way to the eternal shore, is your soul saved? Have you placed your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of sinners? Is He your personal Savior? Each person on the Titanic possessed an eternal soul which is living today...but where?
There was, however, another group on board and they had no souls to lose. It was a large group of dogs belonging to wealthy passengers. In these their owners placed a great deal of pride. Each day it was the assigned duty of a crew member to walk each pet. The exercise would help prepare the animals for an impromptu pet show scheduled, but never held, on Monday, April 15th. As the passengers were concerned for their own safety, they also worried about the well-being of their pets housed in the ship’s kennels. Following the tragedy, it was learned one of the passengers had released the dogs from their kennels so they would not go trapped to the ocean’s bottom. Of all on board, only two dogs, a Polonaise and a Pomeranian, escaped. They did so when they were carried by their owners unnoticed into nearly empty lifeboats.