On November 12, 1961, Terry Jo Duperrault, age 11, was alone on a three-foot by two-foot raft in the Atlantic between the Bahamas and Ft. Lauderdale, FL. The captain of the sixty-foot sailboat her family had chartered killed her parents, her siblings, his wife and scuttled the boat. She was left to die, but she quickly found refuge on the small raft. She floated for 4 days in the open ocean before being rescued by a cargo ship. Alone with no provisions and shocked by the horrors she had seen, she was left adrift.
As tragic as this event was, this plays out spiritually every day. There are many people who are adrift in the world. Those who are unprepared for life and are left to wander. Jesus spoke of them this way, “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest’” (Matt. 9:36-38). How do you see the spiritually weak and lost in this world?
The sailor that spotted Terry Jo noticed the small white raft thinking at first it was whitecap, but as they got closer, he saw it for what it really was. We also can get caught up in seeing the multitudes as just endless waves. This nameless “them,” but we need to get closer. Christ could see into the hearts and minds of men. We have to get involved in people’s lives and make a difference and be an influence (Matt. 5:13-16).
We know that not everyone will respond. In the case of Terry Jo, she was so dehydrated, scorched by the sun and starving. She barely had the energy to sit up. When we talk with people they are so spiritually weak that they do not even know how to respond (Heb. 12:12-13). The men of the cargo ship slowly gave the little 11-year-old girl sips of water and orange juice to revive her. Can you see yourself doing the same to those who are spiritually faint?
Terry Jo was unaware of the dangers that were around her. Even as the ship drew near to her there were sharks circling around the tiny raft. Just getting her into the boat safely was a challenge. Many that you talk with might be content where they are but completely unaware of the danger that surrounds them. We can see the world for what it is as we have been trained to see the spiritual battle that rages around us, but they have not. They are in a snare and “held captive” as Paul would describe it (2 Tim. 2:24-26).
What will you do with those adrift around you? Will you sound the alarm and rush to their aid? Or, will you let them silently slip by? You can make the difference.