The Men of the Titanic

On the night of April 14, 1912, one of the worst maritime disasters in history occurred. The British luxury liner, Titanic, a 46,000 ton ship on her maiden voyage from Liverpool, England, to New York City, struck an iceberg about 95 miles south of the Grand Banks of New Foundland The ship that had been hailed unsinkable, because of its sixteen water – tight compartments, sank in just three hours. The iceberg had penetrated five of the compartments—one more than was considered possible in any single accident.

The captain of the ship had boasted that not even God could sink the ship. Because of the overconfidence of her builder, lifeboats had been provided for only a fraction of the passengers and crew. Some 2,220 persons were on board the giant ship; of these 1,513 lost their lives.

But as tragic as the disaster was, it has left us one of the greatest illustrations of sacrificial love in history. We are told that while the ship’s orchestra played “Nearer My God to Thee,” 1,513 brave souls, mostly men who had given up their places in the life boats for the women and children, gave their lives in the freezing waters of the North Atlantic. It was reported that some 600 widows of the Titanic disaster were left in Liverpool alone!

Recent investigations have shown that the metal of the Titanic was inferior. The mettle of the men of the Titanic was not!

Someone has reported that a recent survey asked the question, “Would you have given up your right to a seat in a lifeboat if you had been on the Titanic?” Forty-eight percent responded “No.” It would seem that this was a much safer place for women to live in, during the days when the Judeao-Christian ethic (or chivalry) was still alive.

How heroic these men of the Titanic were! But what they did was only what God’s Word demands of every Christian Husband. In Ephesians 5:25 we read, “Husbands, love your wives,as Christ loved the Church and gave himself for it.” So, the Christian husband is to demonstrate sacrificial love for his wife just as those men of the Titanic demonstrated their unselfish love for the women and children of the ill-fated ship, by giving their lives for them.

February has just passed. It is the month when we think a lot about the real meaning of love. So let me pose this question, “How much do you love your wife.” How have you demonstrated sacrificial love for her? Let me suggest some tangible ways that you can show her you love her. Think for a moment about some things that you are quite sure irritate you wife most and give them up. It may be a habit that annoys her, it may be a hobby that keeps you away too much, or it may be something else. Give it up if you love her. Make it your goal to change these things in order to demonstrate the reality of your love.

On the positive side, do something tangible for her. Send her flowers, open the car door for her, tell her that you love her, take her out to dinner—just the two of you, not just on Valentine’s Day, but all through the year.

Be like the men of the Titanic in demonstrating your love. Better still be Christ-like in your love for your wife. Christ proved His love for the church by paying the supreme sacrifice. How have you demonstrated your love for your wife?