Shipwreck: Repair the Boat!
Shipwreck: Repair the Boat!
“I am giving this charge to you, Timothy, my dear son, in keeping with the prophecies that were said over you earlier, so that you may fight the good fight, holding faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and made a shipwreck of their faith. Hymenaeus and Alexander are among them, and I have delivered them to Satan, so that they may learn not to blaspheme.” (1 Timothy 1:18-20).
Using the meanings of the Greek words in this passage, it could be paraphrased this way:
My dear child Timothy, as someone who is closely alongside you, I am entrusting these instructions to you which are based on God’s special messages that were given concerning you earlier, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, clinging tightly to your faithful trust and your God-empowered conscience that joins together a mature moral and spiritual awareness. Two men in the church, for example, Hymenaeus and Alexander by name, have thrown their convictions overboard and caused a shipwreck of their trust, leaving their faith in ruins. I have expelled them from the church, handing them over to Satan, so that they may be taught not to slander God or speak profanely of sacred things.
If anyone can speak with authority about shipwrecks, it’s St. Paul. He survived four shipwrecks during his missionary travels on the Mediterranean Sea. The first three wrecks were mentioned by Paul in his second letter to the Corinthians (11:25), and the fourth was described in detail by Paul’s partner Luke, in Acts 27-28. He even had to endure the harrowing experience of hanging on to some piece of wreckage in the open sea for a full night and a day! Somehow, I imagine Paul floating in the middle of nowhere in the waters, singing hymns and praising God, like he did with Silas while shackled in the deepest dungeon cell (Acts 16).
Yes, Paul was all too familiar with what it means to have one’s ship veer dangerously off course in the midst of a severe storm, smash against the rocks in shallow waters, or run aground on a sand bar. So this was an unforgettable image for him as he sought to describe what it looks like when someone makes a shipwreck of his faithful trust in God. He couldn’t think of a better picture of what some of his church members were doing to their faith. Paul wanted us to see this image of a believer making a ruin of his faith and having nothing but pieces of their trust in the Lord floating in the wreckage.
The nation of Israel is a classic biblical example of making a shipwreck of their faith, leaving their relationship with the Lord in ruins. They dramatically rebelled against Yahweh as a nation in a variety of ways: idolatry, or what God called spiritual prostitution, chasing after pagan gods to the extent of child sacrifice; oppressing the poor, orphans and widows; a high degree of sexual immorality; intermarriage with pagan wives; perverting justice with bribery and other forms of legal dishonesty; dishonoring the Lord’s sacred Temple in Jerusalem; depending on neighboring pagan countries for national protection instead of God; neglecting Torah’s significant Holy Days, specially Sabbath and Passover. Yahweh summed it all up in Isaiah 5:24, “They have rejected the Law of Yahweh-sabaoth; they have despised the Word of the Holy One of Israel.”
The Lord, Our Builder and Rebuilder. After their tragic unfaithfulness to God, He allowed Babylon to destroy the nation of Israel and exile most of its people as punishment. God tore down their ruined ship of faith in order for them to start over, to rebuild and restore the nation back to its obedience and faithfulness. This is not surprising, because we know our Lord is merciful and faithful and a builder at heart, and He loves nothing better than to help His followers in the rebuilding process: “The Lord is the builder of Jerusalem.” (Ps. 147:2); “Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations that were laid to waste; you shall be called the repairers of the breach, the restorers of streets to dwell in” (Is. 58:12); “They shall renew the ruined cities” (Is. 61:4); “I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin of Israel” (Jer. 31:4); “The nations that are left around you shall know that I, the Lord, have rebuild the ruined places, and replanted that which was desolate. I, the Lord, have spoken it, and I will do it” (Ezekiel 36:36); “After this, I will come back, and will rebuild the house of David which has fallen; I will rebuild its very ruins, and I will set it up again.” (Acts 15:16).
Redemption. The task of rebuilding that which is in ruins is a picture of redemption, isn’t it? Taking something that is in bad shape and turning it into something in great, if not perfect, shape; taking the old and unusable and transforming it into something just like new. As Jesus said, “Behold, I make all things new!” (Rev. 21:5). Actually, the Cross is the ultimate rebuilding project… Taking something (or Someone) that is dead, and bringing it (or Him) back to life. A dead, shipwrecked faith brought back to life by making it come alive through a rebuilding project. And as a matter fact, there was indeed an amazing rebuilding project after Israel’s shipwreck of faith. When the exiled Israelites were allowed to return to their homeland after 70 years in Babylon, they faced a monumental rebuilding project… the walls of Jerusalem. The people of Israel dearly wanted to come back to life, to be redeemed.
Nehemiah. God tapped a very talented Israelite named Nehemiah to manage the rebuilding of all the walls surrounding Jerusalem (Neh. 1-6). He was the motivator, the defender, the planner, the organizer, and maybe most important of all, he was the man who continued to inspire the Israelite laborers to accomplish their important task. Included in his masterful construction management was to station prayer teams and armed guards around the laborers for spiritual and physical protection from opposition during the project. Not only that, but Nehemiah instructed all the laborers to hold a weapon in one hand and a building tool in the other, and to be strapped with a sword as well! At every turn in this project, Nehemiah depended on the Lord God for the courage to direct and guide the rebuilding process with energy and stamina. Sure enough, all the walls surrounding Jerusalem were completely rebuilt in a remarkable, miraculous 52 days. And now, with the Temple rebuilt for their God-centric worship as a nation, and the walls rebuilt to protect the capital city of Jerusalem, what was once a shipwreck of faith has been transformed, rebuilt into a well-constructed ship of faith.
Construction Details. God would like nothing better than to help us reconstruct our ship of faith after a shipwreck. Here are some details in our rebuilding project after we acknowledge that our faith is in ruins:
Project Manager/Owner of the Ship: The Almighty God, without whose help and inspiration the rebuilding process would be possible. “Unless the Lord builds the (boat), the laborers work in vain, and all their work is wasted.” (Ps. 127:1).
Empowered By: The Holy Spirit, the eternal life-giving Third Person of the Holy Trinity; the intimate bond of divine love and truth shared by God the Father and God the Son; the dynamic power of God offered to every human being on earth; the supernatural Presence in the Community of God who is personal without being material; the invisible creative force with divine intelligence who truly knows the mind of God from the inside; the Spirit of God who thus has all knowledge and is present everywhere in the universe; the sacred energy streaming forth from the Father and the Son, pouring love into our hearts (Romans 5:5), producing virtuous qualities in us (Galatians 5:22-23), and gradually transforming each believer into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Building Plans and Blueprints: The Holy Scripture, including the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. The rebuilding project will most certainly be a disaster if Scripture is not followed.
The Support Crew: One’s brothers and sisters in the Church and the pastors of that church, including prayer support, material encouragement and the ongoing nourishment of the Sacraments.
Protected By: God’s holy angels and the spiritual armor: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For this struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm, then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:10-20).
Project Foreman and the Eventual Captain of the Ship: Who else but Jesus the “tekton,” (Greek), the expert craftsman who works in wood, stone and brick? And who else but Jesus, our “archegos” (Greek). The “Chief Leader” is the simplest literal meaning of ‘archegos,’ but it means so much more than that: 1. Captain; pioneer; pathfinder; trailblazer; initiator; one who sets a pattern; one who goes first to prepare the way for others; one who leads the way in founding something; the predecessor for others to follow. Or “archegos” can also mean Author; originator; primary source; the causer of something; creator. “… Let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus as the captain (archegos) and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross…” (Hebrews 12:2).
Rebuilding Materials: After inspecting the pieces of wreckage that remain, choose only those materials that are usable and necessary for the rebuilt ship of faith. “… whatever is true, honorable, just, and pure; and whatever is lovely and admirable, morally excellent, and worthy of praise…” (Philippians 4:8). These standards for our boat materials will make it seaworthy, dependable, and durable.
Throw Out the Trash: Whatever does not meet the biblical construction code stated above, needs to be discarded and considered rubbish. Pray for discernment and wisdom, because some of your construction might entail some deconstruction, maybe even some favorite doctrines, or some commonly accepted rules, that don’t quite square with Scripture. Let the Bible be your guidebook, your outline of the plans, your blueprint, when rebuilding your ship of faith. Toss away anything from the ruined boat that was near and dear to your heart in the past, but now has you thinking twice on if it is truly Scriptural.
Don’t Forget the Anchor: “We who have fled to Him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold on to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.” (Heb. 6:19). A hopeful view of the future will be our anchor during our journey. This anchor is firm and secure. This is interesting, because it’s upside down. This isn’t an anchor that goes down from above to the depths. No, hope is an anchor that is lodged up above in heaven and is tied to us here below. This anchor is actually secured in heaven, and so it keeps us connected to heavenly matters, to eternal virtues, to the everlasting person of Christ, in short, to our ship of faith. The anchor in glory keeps us tied to the will of God down here, tethered to that which will not diminish and fall apart here on earth. Keeping our hope alive assures us that, no matter the storm or rocky shore or sand bars or icebergs, we remain anchored to life eternal.
Once your rebuilt ship of faith is in the harbor and ready to launch, get your construction permit signed by the Owner, call your Captain, hoist the sails, catch the favorable winds of the Holy Spirit, and anchors away!