But, It Was Such A Little Leak…

During the summer between high school and college, I worked as a “powder monkey” (the one who prepared the 50 lb. charges of dynamite used in seismography} on a deep water seismograph team. The two boats in the group were surplus aircraft rescue boats. They were 105 feet long and22 feet wide. Our boat was powered by two 900 horsepower diesel engines, We also had a diesel generator for our electrical system.

We were 90 miles south of Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico.

I was awakened by screaming and yelling, “We are SINKING!”

I slept in the top bunk in a tier of three. The porthole window over my bunk was normally four or five feet above the waterline (the normal distance between the window and the surface of the water was normally four to five feet),

I looked out the window , and it was underwater!

I dashed up to the main deck and saw we only had about eighteen inches of space between the deck and the sea!

The captain shouted, “The engine room is full of water!”

I thought, we better find that leak and try to plug it! 

I saw the water was just below the electrical panel, so we still had lights in the engine room. I dived in and tried to find the water source, and I found a spot where the water was warm. As I circled the engines to the starboard side, I saw the problem!

Just above the water there was a 3 inch pipe which served as the outlet for the seawater that cooled the generator. It had broken and was pumping a 3 inch stream of sea water into our hull all night long!

I shut the generator down, grabbed some brass rods and an oxy-acetylene torch, and brazed it back together. We restarted the generator and the bilge pump to save our ship.

Wait a second…a 105 foot by 22 foot ship…and a three inch pipe nearly sank it?

But, it was such a little leak!

Dear friends, some time a little sin can sink our Christian testimony and more!

We are called to be a HOLY people, but so many folks settle for being sin managers!

“Oh, I’m not as bad as I used to be, but I still have a few bad habits. Yet, I am still doing better than some of the other church members!”

Try telling that to your crucified Savior, while you are standing before His throne!

God does not grade on the curve…He grades on the CROSS!!!