Near the time when South Vietnam fell to communist North Vietnam, my wife and I began serving Christ among Chinese people 600 miles east of Hanoi in Hong Kong. The news we heard from there was heartrending. Thousands of residents were fleeing from Vietnam in any kind of boat they could find. Up to half of them were believed to have died at sea.
Rescue at Sea
One Danish container ship, the Clara Maersk, offered passage to refugees its crew found adrift in the open sea—3,743 of them abandoned their boats to be taken aboard. Conditions onboard were uncomfortable. Food and cleanliness were limited. Diseases spread. Disagreements broke out. The refugees were as different as salesmen and professors, politicians and athletes, clerks and beauticians, lawyers and farmers, nurses and carpenters, musicians and welders, toddlers and grandmothers, housewives and soldiers. In fact, the only acts they all had in common were forsaking the lives they had known in Vietnam, abandoning their boats at sea, and accepting passage on the Clara Maersk. On May 4, 1975, the ship entered Hong Kong harbor. The refugees were quickly brought ashore and cared for.
Refugees of Repentance
We who are Christ’s church are much like those people. We get on board Christ’s church by turning away from godlessness in order to escape sin’s devastating results. We also leave behind all unreliable modes of rescue to rely on Christ. We are the community of the repentant. Our old clothes may still cling to us, but we can know with surety that we are on board. We are quite different from each other. We do not see eye to eye on many issues. Disagreements break out. Conditions onboard are less than ideal. Pain, heartbreak, and even death still strike us. Our ship is not entirely watertight, but by faith we trust it is seaworthy enough and all openings are above the waterline. We are confident in our captain, Jesus Christ. Faith in the hope of reaching safe harbor, our eternal home in Heaven, sustains our patient endurance. |L
Gary D. Anderson serves as minister of Capitol City Christian Church in Boise, Idaho. He and his wife Joyce served Christ in Hong Kong for 18 years.
