O Captain! my Captain!
"O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is
done", from Walt Whitman's own pen of the poem of the same title as this
email, begins a story about a voyage that ended far too soon for "O
Captain! my Captain!".
As I was reading that this
morning, I could not help but think about our fearful trip through life.
It IS fearful, you know. We all have experienced events in our lives that
have not been pleasant, even downright fearful at times. We live through
sickness and death of loved ones, illnesses and injuries to our own bodies, and
read and hear about atrocities world-wide. The terrible, ruthless,
senseless attack on the mass transit system in
The Whitman poem paints a
picture of a voyage fraught with disaster, one
through which the captain did not survive. " O
the bleeding drops of red, Where on the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and
dead." Compare this image with that of OUR Captain, the mighty
Jesus. He was at the helm of a mighty ship,
all creation on earth, when He produced "bleeding drops of
red". Whitman wrote "O Captain! my
Captain! rise up and hear the bells", as the ship
struggled into port for what was to be a great celebration. Jesus DID
indeed DO that.....rose up and heard the bells. He was the indestructible
captain written about by Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul and prophesied about
by Isaiah and others. The people on His ship shared in hearing the bells,
seeing the flag, hearing the bugles--what the occupants of Whitman's boat heard
and saw, but did it without their captain.
Jesus was not only the
Captain 1972 years ago, but continues to be our Captain aboard this rackled ship we call life. We WILL get through this
voyage, not because we helped to set sail, steer the rudder or hoist the masts,
but simply because of the actions of our Captain. He bled red because of
us. He rose from death because of us. He commands our ship today,
and will through eternity.
If you feel you are
struggling with anything--loss of loved ones, illnesses within your family, sins
you just can't seem to put down, just remember, JESUS is in charge of our ship,
and HE will pilot us to the end of our earthly voyage. And when we get
there, we WILL hear the bells, see the flag and hear the bugles.
I hope this encourages you
this morning. If so, write back to me and share with me some of the
things YOU have been studying about this week.
Love to all,
Mac