John 1:34-39
35 Again the next day, John was standing with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look! The Lamb of God!”37 The two disciples heard him say this and followed Jesus. 38 When Jesus turned and noticed them following Him, He asked them, “What are you looking for?”
They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are You staying?”
39 “Come and you’ll see,” He replied. So, they went and saw where He was staying, and they stayed with Him that day. It was about 10 in the morning.
On January 13, 2012, the massive, luxury, cruise ship Costa Concordia was sailing off the coast of Italy on
a tour of the Mediterranean Sea. The captain deviated from his planned course and the ship struck a rock near the shore. The 3,229 passengers and 1,023 crew members on board were initially unaware that a 160-foot gash had been opened on the port side of the boat’s hull because the captain did not sound a clear alarm or order an evacuation.
The hull breach quickly flooded parts of the engine room, cutting power from the engines and ship services. It was just before midnight when the cruise ship was plunged into total darkness.
Rather than send the alarm to evacuate his ship, the captain boarded a life raft himself and left. In continued phone conversations with the Coast Guard, he was repeatedly ordered back to the ship and asked about the status of his passengers.
His reply, “It’s dark and we can’t see anything.”
The delay in the captain’s actions resulted in the deaths of 32 people. It took more than six hours to finally get everyone to safety. His negligence to staying on course, failure to issue proper emergency orders and abandonment of his post led to his arrest and imprisonment for manslaughter.
When Andrew and John left John the Baptist and began to follow Jesus, they weren’t making a bad decision. Jesus is nothing like the failed and selfish captain of the Costa Concordia. Jesus stays with His people, guides them to safety and never says He can’t see anything, even when life becomes very dark.
You can trust Jesus today. Whatever you are going through. He won’t lead you in bad directions, He won’t jump ship. But there’s one thing about this story we need to see. Andrew and John left everything behind to follow the Lord. They were the first to be called “disciples”, or followers of Christ.
When I was fourteen years old, in 1984, I was given a little wooden placard. This was a year after I went forward at a crusade and confessed Jesus as my Lord and Savior and was Baptized the following Sunday.
It says, “CHRIS – Follower of Christ.” It follows with Psalm 86:11 “Teach me your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth.”
I still have it. It was on my desk in High School, it was with me in Bible college, it’s on my desk today.
The Apostle John at age ninety, remembers the day and the hour he decided to follow the good captain. After more than sixty years of walking with Jesus, John doesn’t have anything negative to say about the one directing his path.
As you travel through the sea of life, choose the right captain to pilot your ship. Follow Him daily, never let Him out of your sight. He will never leave or forsake you. When the wind gets fierce and the waves come in, Jesus will keep you on course. He commands the storm.
Let Jesus lead you.
Get on board and keep sailing!
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