Challenged by John Harper

I saw this post on Instagram six weeks ago and still can’t get it off my mind. It has been fact-checked.

Enjoy.

In 1912, John Harper, a 39-year-old evangelist, was on the Titanic, to travel to the Moody Church in Chicago. However, the journey took an unexpected turn when the ship struck an iceberg and began to sink. As the chaos ensued, John managed to get his 6-year-old daughter to a lifeboat. Instead of boarding with her, he turned back into the fray. He then ran person to person to share the gospel, offering them one last change to know Christ. As the water rose, he was heard shouting, “Women, children, and the unsaved into the lifeboats!”

As the ship tilted and water began to flood its decks, his resolve did not waver. He knew time was running out, but he was determined to save as many souls as possible.

He was eventually plunged into the frigid water, now kept afloat by a life jacket. He swam towards a man who was clinging to the debris from the ship. John asked, “Are you saved?” The man replied, “No, I’m not saved.!” In an act of incredible selflessness, John took off his life jacket and thrust it into the man’s hands. “You need this more than I do! Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved from eternal damnation!”

Moments later, the waters claimed John, pulling him into the depths. The man, buoyed by John’s life jacket, was later rescued by a returning lifeboat.

Four years later, at a reunion of Titanic survivors in Ontario, Canada, this man stood before a crowd. He recounted the night that changed his life and stated, “I am John Harper’s last convert.“

Bible Enthusiast, July 20, 2024, run by Stella Pak, Research, Author of Christian Book (Unique Insight) to be released this fall.

Why can’t I get it off my mind?

• John Harper had a sense of urgency about people’s souls – more than I do these days.
• He was confident in his own salvation. Perhaps I would give away my life jacket without fear of death, but maybe not.
• Harper’s family was not his reason for living. He was a widower traveling with his only daughter and a niece. When he put his daughter on a lifeboat, there was no mommy at the other end. I am not sure what I would do.
• Harper was unabashedly beseeching the unsaved to get into a lifeboat so they would be rescued and have more days to seek and find the Lord and be saved. Have I become lackadaisical in my relationships with people who don’t know Jesus yet? Or, like Harper, am I unabashedly beseeching the Lord for souls in prayer? Am I fiercely seeking every opportunity in relationships to guide people to Jesus even while exercising social appropriateness and patiently allowing relationships to grow?

Truth is, a person has nothing without Jesus.

And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? (Mark 8:36)

Nothing.

John Harper had it right. He makes me wonder who my last convert will be. Only God knows, but I hope to allow God to use my life to grow and mature heaven. Colossians 1:28-29: He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.

To only live for this brief life makes no sense. We can accrue worldly status and possessions, but then what?

Ultimately, what would be the point?

This language has even infiltrated my prayers of blessing at meal times for the last year. Father, bless this food to our bodies so we can live long and well for you. Otherwise, what is the point? Amen

Like Harper, I want to die trying.

Picture Explanation: Father, may this little man grow up to love the Lord with all His heart, soul, mind and strength. May I plead for him in prayer, not calmly ask. May I plead for all the people you have allowed to cross my path, people created in your image. May I plead with tears, care and passion until my dying breath. 

Speaking of living a short life with eternity in mind: The inaugural co-ed online One Gritty Blink Bible study this fall is in process! If you want to join the next one, click on the Oaks Ministries link in the copyright line and send me an email so I can place you on a list to be contacted to participate in a future study! Let’s not just focus on things in this short life, but also what counts for eternity.

Note: No part of my posts are derived from A.I. Thoughts and writing stem from my mind and heart as I process life week-by-week and continue to grow in my understanding of God and how to apply His wisdom to the world around me.

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