John Harper's Last Convert, a Story from the Titanic

The Titanic went down over 100 years ago, and the world remains fascinated by its story and its passengers. John Harper, a Scottish evangelist headed to preach in Chicago, was one such passenger who ended up witnessing in the moments before his death. Dr. Erwin Lutzer of Moody Church described his story,

"Harper, knowing he could not survive long in the icy water, took off his life jacket and threw it to another person with the words, 'You need this more than I do!' Moments later, Harper disappeared beneath the water. Four years later, when there was a reunion of the survivors of the Titanic, the man to whom Harper had witnessed told the story of his rescue and gave a testimony of his conversion recorded in a tract, I was John Harper's Last Convert."

We don't always see the impact of faithfulness and obedience, but as Lutzer concludes, "A hundred years after (Harper's) death, we are still benefitting from the lasting effects of those final moments before he sank into the ocean."

For more resources to live like a Christian in this cultural moment, visit Colsoncenter.org