Salvation and Glory to God
"After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven
shouting: "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God" -
Revelation 19:1
A U.S. Navy warship plucked Richard Van Pham, a 62-year-old Vietnamese
immigrant, from the waters off Costa Rica on September 17, 2002. He was 2,500
miles from his home in Long Beach, California, where he began what he thought
would be a 25 mile trek to Catalina Island. Van Pham had drifted in his disabled
26-foot sailboat "Sea Breeze" for nearly four months before being spotted by a
U.S. Navy plane doing drug traffic reconnaissance.
Limited to a diet of fish, sea turtle, seagulls and rainwater, Van Pham lost
forty pounds in the ordeal but was in relatively good health when plucked from
the blue waters of the Pacific by the USS McClusky.
Pham, a refugee from Vietnam who came to the United States in 1976, was never
reported missing because he told his rescuers that he had no family and had been
living aboard his boat at Long Beach harbor.
Each day he drifted at sea, Van Pham said, he looked for any sign of life, any
sign of land. "I see nothing," he said. "Then one day, I see a plane. I know I'm
close to people. They tip their wings to say hello. Two hours later, a ship
comes to my boat. I am very, very happy."
But leaving the "Sea Breeze" was bittersweet for Van Pham. When Navy officials
determined they were unable to fix the sailboat, Van Pham reluctantly approved
crewmembers setting fire to the 26-foot boat that had carried him so many miles
and been his earthly home. It sank in 8,700 feet of water. "He waved goodbye to
his sailboat," said Petty Officer 3rd Class Joseph Slaight of the McClusky. "He
was upset.and said he was going to miss it."
We may view the death of our physical body in a similar way. Even for the
believer, facing death is a bittersweet experience. We are forced to say goodbye
to the earthly vessel we have grown to love. At the same time, we celebrate that
death means being rescued by our Savior.
Today in prayer, praise the Lord that He has rescued you and we are no longer
adrift, but have an eternal home with Him.
"Christians are not men and women who are hoping for salvation, but those who
have experienced it." - M. Lloyd-Jones
God's Word: "how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This
salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those
who heard him." - Hebrews 2:3
By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2005, Devotional E-Mail DEVOTIONS IN REVELATION
pkennedy6@yahoo.com