Posted on 04/14/2012 8:18:06 PM PDT by RnMomof7
......On board the ship that night was John Harper and his much-beloved six-year-old daughter Nana. According to documented reports, as soon as it was apparent that the ship was going to sink, John Harper immediately took his daughter to a lifeboat. It is reasonable to assume that this widowed preacher could have easily gotten on board this boat to safety; however, it never seems to have crossed his mind. He bent down and kissed his precious little girl; looking into her eyes he told her that she would see him again someday. The flares going off in the dark sky above reflected the tears on his face as he turned and headed towards the crowd of desperate humanity on the sinking ocean liner.
As the rear of the huge ship began to lurch upwards, it was reported that Harper was seen making his way up the deck yelling, "Women, children and unsaved into the lifeboats!" It was only minutes later that the Titanic began to rumble deep within. Most people thought it was an explosion; actually the gargantuan ship was literally breaking in half. At this point, many people jumped off the decks and into the icy, dark waters below. John Harper was one of these people.
That night 1528 people went into the frigid waters. John Harper was seen swimming frantically to people in the water leading them to Jesus before the hypothermia became fatal. Mr. Harper swam up to one young man who had climbed up on a piece of debris. Rev. Harper asked him between breaths, "Are you saved?" The young man replied that he was not.
Harper then tried to lead him to Christ only to have the young man who was near shock, reply no. John Harper then took off his life jacket and threw it to the man and said, "Here then, you need this more than I do..." and swam away to other people. A few minutes later Harper swam back to the young man and succeeded in leading him to salvation. Of the 1528 people that went into the water that night, six were rescued by the lifeboats. One of them was this young man on the debris.
Four years later, at a survivors meeting, this young man stood up and in tears recounted how that after John Harper had led him to Christ. Mr. Harper had tried to swim back to help other people,yet because of the intense cold, had grown too weak to swim. His last words before going under in the frigid waters were, "Believe on the Name of the Lord Jesus and you will be saved." Does Hollywood remember this man? No. Oh well, no matter. This servant of God did what he had to do. While other people were trying to buy their way onto the lifeboats and selfishly trying to save their own lives, John Harper gave up his life so that others could be saved.
"Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends..." John Harper was truly the hero of the Titanic!
ping
AMEN!
The Martyr of the Titanic
The Priests Aboard (the) Titanic [Ecumenical]
THX THX.
MOVING NARRATIVE . . .
Authentic Christianity applying Christian truths
AND PRIORITIES in the cold nitty gritty
of sharply icy life and death.
May millions remember that story . . . in coming traumatic dramas scripted and scheduled.
John Harper was truly the richest man upon that ship! Glory to God! Thank you for posting this wonderful story.
I once knew a person who was drowned then revived back to life. He told my brother it was peaceful. He had no more fear of drowning afterwards. He did not have a near death experience.It was peaceful. But what this man experienced is proably what John Harper knew from this experience.
Here is an account in the Article.
"Ironically, John Harper almost drowned several times during his life. When he was two and a half years of age, he almost drowned when he fell into a well but was resuscitated by his mother.
At the age of twenty-six, he was swept out to sea by a reverse current and barely survived, and at thirty-two he faced death on a leaking ship in the Mediterranean. Perhaps, God used these experiences to prepare this servant for what he faced next..."
Perhaps? I do not believe that at all. He was prepared without a doubt by God. We can see with the eyes of faith. What a feat. God Bless him.
How God prepares us is just amazing. I can look back at my own life too with this in mind.
Praise Jesus!!
He did not have any fear of drowning only the reverence for God and his message to a suffering humanity.
Truely inspiring.
God Bless!
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