Shipwreck

 

Shipwreck of MV Alta. This ghost ship was adrift without a crew in the Atlantic Ocean for two years, until it foundered on the rocks of the southern coast of Ireland in February 2020. [Colm Ryan]

Wikipedia has a wide variety of shipwreck photos. The explanation on this one leads into my subject matter better that others.  There was no one aboard this ship for nearly two years before it crashed into Ireland’s rocky shore. In a Wired article discussing the MV Alta’s “ghost ship” movements:

Georgios Hatzimanolis, an analyst at ship tracking website, "Marine Traffic" . . . .  says this is “not normal behaviour.”

Just as people, ships interact in a number of ways with government entities, locations, other ships, but are alone much of the time. There are “normal” activities – and, also just as people, there are behaviors that are beyond the bounds of rules, laws, and socially acceptable behavior.

That’s why this particular photo/story fits so well with the scripture on my mind this morning:

Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme. (1 Timothy 1:19-20 KJV)

There are examples in newspapers, magazines, and social media where someone who dedicated their lives to following God's will and His plans for their life - and they've made a shipwreck by ignoring what they not only were taught, but what they were teaching to others.

For most Christian ministers, there is an ordination ceremony, succinctly explained online by Britanica:

Ordination, in Christian churches, a rite for the dedication and commissioning of ministers. The essential ceremony consists of the laying of hands of the ordaining minister upon the head of the one being ordained, with prayer for the gifts of the Holy Spirit and of grace required for the carrying out of the ministry. The service also usually includes a public examination of the candidate and a sermon or charge concerning the responsibilities of the ministry.

For IBF churches, there is a commitment by the new minister to his ordainers, to his congregation, and to God, to fulfill that commitment with their help. Not all do. Some make a full shipwreck of their lives, worse than the MV Alta.

The MV Alta’s crew abandoned her. The ship had no control over where it sailed, following only wind and currents. There was no captain, no crew, no autopilot - no ability for the ship to make any decision as to where it should go.

For ministers, it is possible the ordainers could fail. They would no longer act as mentors. They might not mention problems they see in the new minister's life. Even the congregation could fail. Congregations have been known to downsize, to stop attending services, to ignore the ordained with supportive attendance and prayer. 

God will not fail. Multiple verses confirm this belief. Our faith firms our resolve to believe them – but once our faith falters, the following failures are ours, not God’s.

When our faith fails, it is so easy to blame God, though the failure is ours by not holding on to faith that God’s promises are the same today and tomorrow. Paul gave us names as examples of shipwrecks, Hymenaaeus and Alexander. Paul left them to their own desires, leaving them to follow their chosen path.They broke their promises to serve God, lost their faith in His ability to sustain them. This is not normal Christian behavior. Faith sustains Christian lives. A loss of faith can end in a life’s shipwreck.

I’ve seen that happen to a young man who was ordained in our church. A Bible college graduate, an excellent preacher,  a good voice to make a joyful noise unto the Lord, servant as a Youth Minister, later as a Pastor - but who failed to retain faith in God’s will. We’ve seen the loss of his calling, his inability to hold a job, loss of his family, and eventually loss of his freedom. The one thing that has not ceased is prayers for his return to God. Please join us in prayer that he might return to living in God's will.