USS New York

 

       I read a very interesting story the other day about a ship called the USS New York.  This is no fishing or transport vessel, it is a full-fledged battleship.  Even though the USS New York does all the normal things that any other battleship does, there is still something that makes this particular battleship especially interesting.  It is unique because it was built with the steel from the destroyed World Trade Center.  This one billion dollar US navy assault vessel includes 7.5 tons of recycled steel from the September 11, 2001 attack.  One woman who lost her fireman brother in the attack made this comment, "It's a transformation ... from something really twisted and ugly" (Times Online).  What a wonderful, feel-good story this is.  September 11th was such a horrible tragedy, it is nice to hear about something good coming out of the carnage.
       When talking about tragedies, one other tragedy that comes to my mind is none other than our own spiritual tragedy caused by our sins.  Our sins have caused terrible carnage to our relationship with God.  We all found ourselves in such a horrific state that we desperately needed hope and change.  Then we learned about the wonderful sacrifice that Christ made for us, and the hope that we can have when we follow and obey Him (1 Peter 2:24).  So we responded by having our sins washed away through baptism (Mark 16:15-16; Acts 2:38, Romans 6; 1 Peter 3:21).  The next thing we know, the Lord has taken something so "twisted and ugly," something that was a result of our own spiritual carnage, and transformed us into something wonderful (2 Corinthians 3:18).
       It is such a blessing to be a Christian.  Let's always remember how we were, and what things were like, before we were saved (Romans 3:23; 6:23).  Wouldn't it be incredibly reckless for the crew of the USS New York to decide that the ship was actually better when it was a twisted and ugly mess?  And what if they decided to tear the ship apart and put it back in the previous condition the steal had been in?  Obviously this would be a very terrible and ignorant decision.  It is also reckless for Christians to go back to the twisted and ugly mess we once were.  Let's always strive to obey and live like Christ has asked us to do, and allow the Lord to continue to mold us into something great (Romans 12:2; Isaiah 64:8).

 

--Brett Petrillo