The name of Robert Rafferty will not mean anything to the vast majority of people. He was, however, the Chief Steward on the ss Edmund Fitzgerald - a freighter that was, when launched in 1958 at 26,000 tons DWT, the largest ship sailing on the North American Great Lakes. On November 3rd, 1975, Chief Steward Rafferty wrote to his wife: "I may be home by November 8th, However, nothing is ever sure."
On November 10th, in a ferocious storm on Lake Superior, the Edmund Fitzgerald sank. With near hurricane-force winds, and waves up to 35' high, she may have been swamped but, to this day, no-one knows for certain what caused the tragedy. What is known is that all 29 crew members perished - including Chief Steward Rafferty. The prophetic irony of those last words to his wife should not be lost on anyone!
That, of course, is only one tragedy out of countless numbers. I have visited the Japanese city of Nagasaki, on which the second atomic bomb was dropped at the end of the Second World War. I have seen a section of wall - with a human being fused into it! It is estimated that some 40,000 people died instantly, with a similar number dying in the following months as a result of injuries, burns, and radiation exposure.
On December 22nd, 1999, in South Lanarkshire, a home in the town of Larkhall was totally destroyed by a gas explosion. Andrew Findlay, his wife Jeanette, and their two children - Stacy (13 years of age) and Daryll (11 years of age), died in the explosion.
Not a day passes without a reminder that our earthly lives can end at any moment - and often without any notice. All that we need to do is to read the obituary columns! One message comes across, loudly and clearly: "We're here today - but we may be gone tomorrow!"
I am currently working on the fourth book on my series on getting to know the Christian Faith. This is is to be entitled "Living the Faith", and is being based on the letter from the apostle James, the half-brother of the Lord Jesus, the Christ. It is a very practical letter - and it acknowledges this suddenness with which death may touch us. "What is your life?" asks James. The answer he provides is: "It is even a vapour that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away." (4:14).
Although Benjamin Franklin, one of the "founding fathers" of the USA, is often credited with the quotation, it was actually another writer - Christopher Bullock - who first penned the thought "It is impossible to be sure of anything but death and taxes". However, the claim is not quite true, as it it possible, in some cultures at least, to never have to pay taxes!
But is our only certainty, then, the sobering prospect that, at any moment we may be thrust into eternity - however we may conceive of it? Not for the disciple of Jesus! That same Jesus is the anchor of the soul. He paid the penalty for your sins, and mine, when He hung on a cross at Calvary. If we are willing, and humble enough, to confess our sins before Father God, and to accept that salvation that was won for us at such a great cost, then we will receive forgiveness, and eternal life, as we place our trust, solely and completely, in Him. He has promised to be with us, even in the hour of death, and we may depend on His promises.
Does your earthly life sometimes seem to be futile because nothing is ever sure? Then trust in Him, the perfect Lamb of God. He provides a joyous certainty about eternity that can be yours - right now! It's never too soon to accept the new life that Jesus offers; but, at any moment, it may be too late!
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