I have another lifeboat story to share with you. On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks were common, there was once a crude little lifesaving station. The building was little more than a hut and there was only one boat, but the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea, and with no thought for themselves went out day and night tirelessly searching for the lost. Many lives were saved by this wonderful little station. In fact, it became famous for the good work it did. As it became well-known, some of those who had been saved, and others from the area, wanted to become part of this station. Many people joined it. They gave of their time and effort and money to support the work of the lifesaving station. New boats were bought. New crews were trained. The little lifesaving station grew.

Some of the members of the station were unhappy that the building was so crude and so poorly equipped. They felt that a more comfortable place should be provided as the first refuge of those saved from the sea. They built a new shelter, replaced the emergency cots with beds and put better furniture in the enlarged building. Now the lifesaving station became a popular gathering place for its members. They decorated it and improved the furnishings. They kept adding on and improving as more and more people joined. It became a sort of club, a place where members could get together and socialize. Fewer members were interested in going to sea on the lifesaving missions, so they hired lifeboat crews to work for them and go in their place. The lifesaving motif was still prominent in the main room. There was still a liturgical lifeboat in the room where initiations were held.

About this time a large ship was wrecked on the coast. The hired crews brought in boat loads of cold, wet and half drowned people. They were dirty and sick, and some of them had black skin and some had yellow skin. The beautiful new club was in chaos, so the property committee immediately had a temporary shelter house built outside the club where victims of shipwrecks could be cleaned up before coming inside.

At the next meeting, there was a split in the club membership. Most of the members wanted to stop the club’s lifesaving activities altogether. They viewed rescue efforts as being unpleasant and a hindrance to the normal, social life of the club. Some members insisted that being a lifesaving station was their primary purpose, pointing out that they were still called a lifesaving station. However, they were a small minority and voted down. The minority was told that if they wanted to still save the lives of those shipwrecked in those waters, they could begin their own lifesaving station down the coast. They did.

As the years went by, the new station experienced the same changes that occurred in the old. It evolved into a club, and yet another life-saving station was formed. History continued repeating itself, and today there are a number of exclusive clubs up and down those shores. Shipwrecks are still common in those waters, but most of the people drown, because none of the lifesaving stations are really lifesaving stations.

Take a close look at your congregation. Of course you need to care for those already in the fold, and you are doing that. But are you taking the message to the lost? Are you telling those who are drowning in sin that Jesus wants to be their Savior? Are you pointing to the cross for those who are in need?

It isn’t easy being alone. And those who die alone, without Christ, are forever condemned and separated from him. All around us are people drowning in their sins, and you and I have the means to save them. What are you going to do?