Cut the Lines

Mark Batterson Cut the Lines to the Lifeboat blog entry

I just read the story of Paul's crash landing on the Island of Malta. One phrase jumped off the page: "cut the lines to the lifeboat."

One of the intriguing dimensions to this story is Paul's prophecy that nobody would drown, but everybody had to stay on board. Paul uncovered a plot by some sailors to escape via lifeboat and reported it to the centurion. He said, "If these sailors don't stay with the ship, we're all going to drown."

What do you do when you believe you've heard a word from the Lord? It's the moment of truth isn't it?

Imagine how tough it must have been for this Centurion. If I know anything about human nature I know this: we like backup plans. We all want a lifeboat. But there are moments in life when you have to cut the lines to the lifeboat. And the very thing that seems the riskiest is actually the safest and what seems the safest is actually the riskiest. The thing that could cost your life ends up saving your life and the thing that could save your life ends up costing your life. The centurion decides to bet the boat on this word from the Lord. By faith, the centurion orders his men to "cut the lines to the lifeboat." It says they watched it drift off. I'm sure there was a moment when they thought to themselves: what did we just do?

Those are the scariest and greatest moments in life aren't they? Listen, I've had a few ships sink. Our first church plant attempt in Chicago sunk. And we tanked Godipod.com. I thought both of those things were a word from the Lord. And I still can't make sense of why they sank. But I've also had moments when the ship has sailed. And more often than not, it's because I cut the lines to the lifeboat.

Every time we launch a new location at NCC it feels like we're cutting the lines to the lifeboat. It's risky. What if it doesn't sail? But when you hear a word from the Lord, you've got to step out in faith and cut the lines to the lifeboat.

One footnote.

This shipwreck results in Paul landing on Malta. It wasn't on his itinerary, but it was on God's itinerary. A shipwreck and a snakebite result in an island-wide revival. I actually write about this story in Wild Goose Chase. The conclusion I come to is this: sometimes it takes a shipwreck to get you to where God wants you to be.