The first two times the Turner family went to Pakistan, it was by tramp freighter. I, Jonathan, was too young the first time around to really appreciate the experience. During the second voyage, however, eleven-year-old me fell in love with all things nautical. I spent hours just watching the prow of the ship plow through the ocean swells. The five minutes or so the first mate allowed me to take the helm was a never forgotten thrill. (I was just tall enough to see the compass card!) I even received my first lesson in acoustics down in the engine room – it was incredible how the noise level dropped when you poked your head into the com booth. I loved watching the spin of the propeller shaft, refueling operations, sailors chipping paint, stevedores shifting cargo, flying fish … The Psalmist knew what he was talking about when he wrote, “They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep.” (Psalm 107:23-24 KJV)
The romance of the sea was tempered by a reminder of its cruelty. One day near the Azores Archipelago, we passed a wreck. The ship’s hulk pointing out of the still waters of the Atlantic looked distinctly out of place. As I recall, she’d gutted herself on a reef just a few days before. Her stern was resting on the bottom and the buoyancy of the forward holds lifted her prow out of the waves at about a 70 degree angle. Though awed by the sight, the adventurer in me wondered why somebody hadn’t already claimed her for salvage.
Thinking of salvage, it occurs to me that is what God has done for us. The Apostle Paul writes, “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13-14 NIV) Not only has God salvaged us, He has set us up in the salvage business. Paul uses the analogy of a shipwreck to describe those who compromise their faith and conscience (1 Timothy 1:19 some “…have suffered shipwreck in regard to the faith”).
A number of things must come together for salvage to occur.
1) Someone must recognize the value of the wreck. In regard to value, in His parables Jesus left no doubt about the worth of the ‘lost.’ His parables of the lost sheep, lost coin and lost son make that abundantly clear (see Luke chapter 15).
2) There must be an underwriter to finance the salvage operation. As far as underwriting the endeavor, God has already done it. “For God so loved he world that he gave…” (John 3:16).
3) Someone must be willing to undertake the work. Finding people to undertake the work is a little bit more problematic. There is a shortage. Jesus told His disciples to ask for workers (Matthew 9:38), then sent them out in answer to their own prayers (Matthew 10:5). The truth is that God recruits all of Jesus’ followers to join in the work of salvage, but we are sometimes hesitant or slow to respond.
4) The right tools and techniques must be used. As for tools, God equips and trains each one of us for the role He has chosen us to fulfill (Romans 12:3, Ephesians 4:11-13, 2 Peter 1:3).
Just as certain salvage operations require special pumps and other esoteric equipment, the Lord has given us at Key Communications equipment and knowledge not commonly available to others. WE are the specialists needed for the particular reefs of the Urdu speaking world!
As with any salvage operation, the divers wielding cutting torches couldn’t work without an extensive support team. YOU are our support team.
Thank you for keeping up the flow of oxygen to those of us who are in the depths shoveling sand and cutting away wreckage! Your part is as vital as ours. Only TOGETHER can we retrieve what is lost from the waves of destruction!
