THE TITANIC'S LAST HERO

John Harper was born to a pair of solid Christian parents on May

29th,1872. It was on the last Sunday of March 1886, when he was thirteen

years old that he received Jesus as the Lord of his life. He never knew

what it was to "sow his wild oats." He began to preach about four years

later at the ripe old age of 17 years by going down to the streets of his

village and pouring out his soul in earnest entreaty for men to be

reconciled to God.

As John Harper's life unfolded, one thing was apparent...he was consumed

by the word of God. When asked by various ministers what his doctrine

consisted of, he was known to reply "The Word of God!" After five or

six years of toiling on street corners preaching the gospel and working in

the mill during the day, Harper was taken in by Rev. E. A. Carter of

Baptist Pioneer Mission in London, England. This set Harper free to devote

his whole time of energy to the work so dear to his heart.

Soon, John Harper started his own church in September of 1896. (Now known as the

Harper Memorial Church). This church which John Harper had started with

just 25 members, had grown to over 500 members when he left 13years later.

During this time he had gotten married, but was shortly there after

widowed. However brief the marriage, God did bless John Harper with a

beautiful little girl named Nana.

Ironically, John Harper almost drowned several times during his life.

When he was two and a half years of age, he almost drowned when he fell

into a well but was resuscitated by his mother. At the age of twenty-six,

he was swept out to sea by a reverse current and barely survived, and at

thirty-two he faced death on a leaking ship in the Mediterranean. Perhaps,

God used these experiences to prepare this servant for what he faced next.......

It was the night of April 14, 1912. The RMS Titanic sailed swiftly on

the bitterly cold ocean waters heading unknowingly into the pages of

history.

On board this luxurious ocean liner were many rich and famous people.

At the time of the ship's launch, it was the world's largest man-made

moveable object. At 11:40 p.m. on that fateful night, an iceberg scraped

the ship's starboard side, showering the decks with ice and ripping open

six watertight compartments. The sea poured in.

On board the ship that night was John Harper and his much-beloved

six-year-old daughter Nana. According to documented reports, as soon as it

was apparent that the ship was going to sink, John Harper immediately took

his daughter to a lifeboat. It is reasonable to assume that this widowed

preacher could have easily gotten on board this boat to safety;

however, it never seems to have crossed his mind. He bent down and kissed

his precious little girl; looking into her eyes he told her that she would

see him again someday. The flares going off in the dark sky above reflected

the tears on his face as he turned and headed towards the crowd of

desperate humanity on the sinking ocean liner. As the rear

of the huge ship began to lurch upwards, it was reported that Harper was

seen making his way up the deck yelling "Women, children and unsaved into

the lifeboats!" It was only minutes later that the Titanic began to rumble

deep within. Most people thought it was an explosion; actually the

gargantuan ship was literally breaking in half. At this point,many people

jumped off the decks and into the icy, dark waters below.John Harper was

one of these people.

That night 1528 people went into the frigid waters. John Harper was seen

swimming frantically to people in the water leading them to Jesus before

the hypothermia became fatal. Mr. Harper swam up to one young man who

had climbed up on a piece of debris. Rev. Harper asked him between breaths,

"Are you saved?" The young man replied that he was not.

Harper then tried to lead him to Christ only to have the young man who was

near shock, reply no. John Harper then took off his life jacket and threw

it to the man and said "Here then, you need this more than I do..."and swam

away to other people. A few minutes later Harper swam back to the young man

and succeeded in leading him to salvation. Of the 1528 people that went

into the water that night, six were rescued by the lifeboats.

One of them was this young man on the debris. Four years later, at a

survivors meeting, this young man stood up and in tears recounted how John

Harper had led him to Christ. Mr. Harper had tried to swim back to help

other people, yet because of the intense cold, had grown too weak to swim.

His last words before going under in the frigid waters were

"Believe on the Name of the Lord Jesus and you will be saved."

Does Hollywood remember this man? No. Oh well, no matter. This servant of

God did what he had to do. While other people were trying to buy their way

onto the lifeboats and selfishly trying to save their own lives, John

Harper gave up his life so that others could be saved.

"Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his

friends..." John Harper was truly the hero of the Titanic!