Life from Death

The wind is blowing fiercely, churning the jade green sea to a foamy white. The sky is overcast; a deathly grey, pouring its never-ending reserve of cold, winter rain into the sea. On the tossed waves is a small, fragile boat being thrown from giant waves to even bigger ones like a bouncing ball. Three men whose lives are at stake run busily about the decks of the ship, terrified.

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These three men formed a small group years earlier, as if they had nothing to lose. Each had a wife and children. They struggled to live in their means as they broke their backs day by day out on the rising swells of the ocean fishing for their money. The small town in which they lived was nothing more than a few warehouses, homes, and a tiny Christian free holiness church gathered together near the dock. They had grown up in this humble place, knowing everything that went on. The town held a special charm, one that almost disappeared along with sail ships and oilskin jackets after the turn of the 20th century.

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These three men figured that they had a chance of making a better living for each of their families if they worked together. Although the group seemed as if it would not work at first, the men grew even closer through their trials, enduring the tears and the agonies of working out at sea. Fish were always plentiful, however. Every morning before they left, they all joined hands and fervently prayed together, pleading the Lord Jesus to watch over them and protect them from anything that would harm them and then they would embark out on the sea to another day of work.

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After the group had been in existence for a number of years, times got rough, and fish grew scarce. The fishermen had to start going farther out into the sea to find fish as time wore on. Because of the great length of these trips, they were long in coming home and selling their fish. Money got really low during the spaces between these trips and the families of the men were practically living in poverty. As conditions got worse, the men figured they needed to go farther than they'd ever gone. Their families were hungry and it was in the middle of a bad winter, one that would not leave a good memory. Knowing full well the danger of setting out at sea in bad winter weather, they prepared to set out in their boat. As the men got ready to leave, they prayed as they usually did. But this time, they felt troubled in their hearts, but seeing their families hungry kept them from being overcome by fear. Just one good catch would provide their families with the food to keep them fed for the rest of the winter. The men were prepared to do what they had to do to keep their families alive.

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While out on the cold sea, they caught the biggest load of fish that they had ever caught. They rejoiced, eating what they had left of the food their wives had packed for them in a little makeshift party that night. They went to sleep in their bunks satisfied, knowing that their minds would rest much easier when they arrived home. They placed the fish in huge chests filled with ice before they left, locked them down and placed them within the cargo hold of the ship.

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The next day, the men awoke to a pale sky and an angry sea. They quickly fumbled around, half asleep, dressed in their overalls and went out on deck to meet a torrent of ice rain, which cut through their skin and pierced their bones with chill. After doing all they could to maintain the deck, they rushed inside, shivering from the freeze. The windows of the ship's bridge were constantly barraged by giant waves and they couldn't see through the ice encrusted on the glass.

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The storm grew to a frenzy, with each wave gaining even more power over the already battered ship. As one of the men looked out of the ship's ice covered window, he lost all of his hope, and doubted everything that he had ever believed in. He wondered how a God, in whom he thought he believed, could let something as terrible as this happen to him. He questioned the faith that he had and everything that he thought that God had ever done for him.. He felt alone, with no one to understand he and his comrades' fear, no comfort, nothing but pulverizing sorrow and fear. But, right when he thought that everything had gone, a song he sang at the funeral of his father came instantly to his remembrance. His father had died at sea when he was 10 years old.

Rocked in the cradle of the deep,

I lay me down in peace to sleep;

Secure I rest upon the wave,

For Thou, O Lord, hast power to save.

I know Thou wilt not slight my call,

For Thou dost mark the sparrow's fall.

And such the trust that still were mine,

Though stormy winds sweep o'er the brine,

Or though the tempest's fiery breath

Rouse me from sleep to wreck and death,

In ocean cave still safe with Thee,

The germ of immortality.

And calm and peaceful is my sleep,

Rocked in the cradle of the deep;

And calm and peaceful is my sleep,

Rocked in the cradle of the deep.

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As he began to recall this song that came to him, his faith began to slowly return to him. He felt a warmth that surpassed the cold ocean spray. He remembered when the Lord helped him and when the Lord became his shepherd, keeping him during the time of childhood despair. He remembered the joy of accepting Christ as His Savior and remembered the times the Lord blessed him: his marriage, his children being born. The fondness of these memories comforted him. He knew that even in the face of certain death, he would not give up his faith in Christ. Christ would save him from this and would deliver him up to peace and security. He gathered his comrades and together they remembered the song and sang it as the ship was taken over by the waves. Right as one giant wave started to overtake his ship, he saw a small glimpse into the deep, a different world, soon to be his home. As his ship began to plunge full force into the dark recesses of the sea, he heard a small voice in his head continue to say, "I have saved you, do not be afraid my child." The voice continued until the hand clasp of the three men was broken by the blackness that invaded the bridge to envelope them in its icy and indifferent embrace.

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Then the pain, sorrow, and fear was slowly pushed away from him. The darkness was taken away, and bright white light filled up his vision. He felt comforted, in the presence of something he could not comprehend, but fully knew. When all of the darkness was finally wisped away by the white light, he beheld a great crowd of people, all of whom had smiles on their faces. His father was leading them, running with his arms extended toward him. His father enclosed him in a hug, something that his son had longed for so many times after his death. All of the happy people shook his hand and gave him friendly hugs telling him how proud they were of him. He recognized all of these people... one was his best childhood friend who had died when they were just young..another was his old pastor, who taught him everything he knew about skipping rocks on water..and his brother, who had died in a tragic construction accident... Music of redemption, of a mission finally accomplished, played around him. Along with the crowd of friends, he walked toward the source of the sound of the music. As he walked, he looked down to see he was no longer in any water soaked overall, but in a shimmering white robe, the most beautiful clothing he had ever seen. Finally, he saw a figure in the distance, it looked like a man. He was barely visible, but he could see that he was running towards him. When the man finally reached him he immediately felt a joy that was unspeakable come over him and it became so great that he couldn't contain it. He saw that it was a man that he felt he had known all of his life. They met and embraced. As they were held to each other, the man whispered into his ear with the most love he'd ever heard "well done, good and faithful servant". Then, with smiles on their faces and tears of joy in their eyes, they went together into the brightness of the kingdom, washed in the glory of heaven.

"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal,
flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great
street of the city......" "No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God
and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will
see his face , and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more
night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the
Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever....... "

- Revelation 22:1, 3-5

The day after the storm, five huge chests of fish washed up on shore...The families of the fishermen were fed for the rest of the winter. The church of the community took the families into their homes, raised the children and cared for the mothers. No one ever saw the fishermen again, but everyone knew where they had ended up...