Booking The Voyage Of A Lifetime--Shall It Be The "US Titanic" Or The Biblical Ark?

When launched from Southampton, England in 1912, the Titanic was the largest (and most luxurious) moving structure ever built, and was believed to be unsinkable.

Next to Noah's Ark, the vessel designed to preserve life on earth and offer the world a new start, no ship has gotten as much attention as the ill-fated Titanic, an example of the best devised human plans going horribly wrong. 

We usually associate the ship's maiden voyage with images of the rich and famous on the cruise of a lifetime on this state of the art craft. And while there were the super rich who had whole suites to themselves and who were provided unbelievable amenities--along with the other 200 plus first-class passengers who occupied the upper decks--the majority of the 2,223 passengers (and of course the crew) were actually second- and third-class voyagers. And among those occupying the lower decks of the ship were hundreds of mostly German immigrants making the journey for a new life in the US. 

I certainly wouldn't be the first to see the legendary Titanic as a metaphor for the first-class economies of powerful and prosperous nations like the US, widely believed to be humanity's best hope for the future, but also representing many layers of privilege and power. And I wouldn't be the first to remind us that God may have opposite plans in mind for inhabitants of the wonderful planet we call earth.

I join those who envision God's dream being that of all of us traveling together in the safety of an Ark, a metaphor for a life voyage in which all humanity and all living creatures are cared for and are anticipating a new life of shalom. I see Jesus and the prophets calling all of us to a future in which there will be a fully restored heavens and earth, free of exploitation, violence, discrimination and domination, just as the original heavens and earth were designed to be.

Meanwhile, we should see life in the here and now as brief, and all about praying and working together for a life of salvation, freedom, justice and abundance for all, not just a privileged few.

So when it comes to the voyage of a lifetime, let's be sure to book the right vessel.