Man Overboard!

When you board a ship, you are considered onboard. The last thing you want when you are on a ship is to go overboard. That is considered an emergency worthy of repeated drills with a goal: Rescue. When I served in the US Navy in the early 1970’s, the captain of the U.S.S. Bagley staged surprise drills. Some were for battle-readiness, but I believe fire drills and man overboard drills were more frequent. Fire on board ship is no small matter. You are carrying explosives and have a lot of fuel. Both react poorly to uncontrolled fire. Life is often lost if the response is lackadaisical or apathetic.

Wayne L. Winquist aboard the U.S.S. Bagley, FF-1069 in the spring of 1975 near San Diego harbor

Equally distressing, if you value life, is a man (or woman) overboard. (Side note: When I was in the Navy, there were no women on our ship. I’m not certain if the Navy has changed to “person overboard” or some other such nonsense in this crazy world!)

Immediate Rescue Needed

When we heard “Man overboard!” we were to assume a member of the crew has fallen off the ship into the water and needed immediate rescue. Whoever sees the person’s fall is to shout, “Man overboard!” This is to be repeated by every crewman within earshot, even if they have not seen the victim fall. It isn’t long before everyone on board the ship has heard and given the same call.

When the officer on the bridge hears these two words, all attention is directed for finding and rescuing the missing person. This included gathering with your shipmates (all the signalmen rushed to the signal bridge to have a headcount and then to search the waters for the missing sailor.)

This reminds me of an old hymn, “Rescue the Perishing.” But it also reminds me that there is One who is Mighty to Save, and his name is Jesus. Peter cried out to Jesus when he was sinking in the sea of Galilee. Jesus was mighty to save Peter, and he said he came to seek and to save the lost. He came to rescue the perishing.

Cry Out To Jesus Writer/s: Brad Avery, David Carr, Mac Powell, Mark D. Lee, Tai Anderson

Third Day “Cry Out To Jesus” Lyrics Hope for the helpless!

Third Day – Cry Out To Jesus (Official Video)

How to Identify a Follower of Jesus

Souls are worth more than possessions, wealth, comfort, pleasures, or anything temporary that might seek to distract us from the one whose soul is in great danger. “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise.” Proverbs 11:30

Five Minute Friday

This post is part of the weekly Five Minute Friday link-up.

All scripture passages are from the English Standard Version except as otherwise noted.