On
a dangerous seacoast notorious for shipwrecks, there was a crude little
lifesaving station. Actually, the
station was merely a hut with only one boat...but the few devoted members kept
a constant watch over the turbulent sea.
With little thought for themselves, they would go out night and day
tirelessly searching for those in danger as well as the lost. Many, many lives were saved by this brave
band of men who faithfully worked as a team in and out of the lifesaving
station. By and by, it became a famous
place.
Some of those who had been saved as
well as others along the seacoast wanted to become associated with this little
station. They were willing to give their
time and energy and money in support of its objectives. New boats were purchased. New crews were trained. The station that was once obscure and crude
and virtually insignificant began to grow.
Some of its members were unhappy that the hut was so unattractive and
poorly equipped. They felt a more
comfortable place should be provided.
Emergency cots were replaced with lovely furniture. Rough, hand-made equipment was discarded and
sophisticated, classy systems were installed.
The hut, of course, had to be torn down to make room for all the
additional equipment, furniture systems and appointments. By its completion, the life-saving station
had become a popular gathering place, and its objectives had begun to
shift. It was now used as sort of a clubhouse,
and attractive building for public gatherings.
Saving lives, feeding the hungry, strengthening the fearful, and calming
the disturbed rarely occurred by now.
Fewer members were now interested in
braving the sea on lifesaving missions, so they hired professional lifeboat
crews to do this work. The original goal
of the station wasn't altogether forgotten, however. The lifesaving motifs still prevailed in the
club's decorations. In fact, there was a
liturgical lifeboat preserved in the Room
of Sweet Memories with soft, indirect lighting, which helped hide the layer
of dust upon the once-used vessel.
About this time a large ship was
wrecked off the coast and the boat crews brought in loads of cold, wet,
half-drowned people. They were dirty,
some terribly sick and lonely. Others
were black and "different" from the majority of the club members. The beautiful new club suddenly became messy
and cluttered. A special committee saw
to it that a shower house was immediately built outside and away from the
club so victims of shipwreck could be cleaned up before coming inside.
At the very next meeting there were
strong words and angry feelings, which resulted in a division among the
members. Most of the people wanted to
stop the club's lifesaving activities and all involvements with shipwreck
victims....(it's too unpleasant, it's a hindrance to our social life, it's
opening the door to folks who are not our kind"). As you'd expect, some still insisted upon
saving lives, that this was their primary objective-that their only reason for
existence was ministering to anyone
needing help regardless of their club's beauty or size or decorations. They were voted down and told if they wanted
to save the lives of various kinds of people who were shipwrecked in those
waters, they could begin their own lifesaving station down the coast! They did.
As years passed, the new station
experienced the same old changes. It
evolved into another club...and yet another lifesaving station was begun. History continued to repeat itself...and if
you visit that coast today you'll find a large number of exclusive, impressive
clubs along the shoreline owned and operated by slick professionals who have lost
all involvement with the saving of lives.
Shipwrecks still occur in those waters,
but now, most of the victims are not saved.
Every day they drown at sea, and so few seem to care...so very few. Do you?
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