Toothache on the Titanic
Did you hear about the guy with the toothache on the Titanic? Or the couple who were bickering about their relationship in their cabin? Or the grieving widow and her children? Or the guy who was drunk and in despair about his addiction?
Little did these people know, as they made their way across the Atlantic Ocean in 1912, at that moment their very real and very painful issues were not their biggest problem.
Every one of us has felt needs that we think about and deal with on a daily basis. We often think, if only this issue or that issue didn’t exist, we’d be okay. But like the people on the Titanic, with very real and very painful issues, our very real and very painful issues are only symptoms of our biggest problem.
We are all sinners separated from God, and that problem manifests itself in thousands of ways in this broken world.
“Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.” (Isaiah 59:1–2)
Confession of sin brings us to the heart of the issue.
We need rescue from ourselves, our sin, and our separation from God. And it’s when we come to God with empty hands that He meets us and gives to us what we need most.
“Stretch out your hand from on high; rescue me and deliver me from the many waters…” (Psalm 144:7)
“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8–9)
With this in mind, let’s confess our sin. Will you pray with me?
Almighty God, we confess that our biggest problem is our bondage to sin. We prove it daily by our failure to love you and our neighbor. We thank you for the sinless life of Jesus, your beloved Son, for His death on the cross, and for His victory over sin, Satan, and death—FOR US. So, for the sake of your crucified and resurrected Son, forgive us, renew us, and lead us we pray. Amen
So, I declare to you—by the Word of our Lord Jesus Christ (John 20:23) that all your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
“This photograph was taken by a passenger of the Carpathia, the ship that received the Titanic’s distress signal and came to rescue the survivors. It shows the last lifeboat successfully launched from the Titanic.” (National Archives)
