| The Every Day of Life |
Chapter 11 |
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I am glad I do not have to know the future. I am glad I do not have to understand things. It is such a restful experience to be able to leave all in God’s hands.
There may come times when it will seem to us that that if we could have known a little of the future, it would have saved us much trouble. If we had known that this business would turn out so badly, we would not have gone into it. But the experience has done us good, and we could not have had the lesson without the experience. If we had known that this person was so dishonorable, we would not have taken him as our friend. But one of Christ’s lessons was learned through a betrayal; and this brings us into fellowship with him at a new point. If we had known that a certain journey would have made us ill, we would have not taken it. But our sickness has been a blessing to us. If we had known that we should never see our friend again, we would not have parted from him in angry or impatient mood. But we have learned gentleness and thoughtfulness through our pain, and will never forget the lesson. No doubt in all such cases there is some reason why it is better we did not know.
We have no responsibility for results. It is ours only to be faithful to our duty; the rest is God’s. The engineer down in the heart of the great steamer does not know whither the force he sets free will propel the vessel. It is not his place to know. It is his only to obey every signal, to start hi engine, to quicken, or slow, or reverse it, as he is directed. He has nothing whatever to do with the vessel’s course. He sees not an inch of the sea.
It is not our part to guide our life in this world, amid its tangled circumstances. It is ours just to do our duty. Our Master’s hand is on the helm. He knows all; he pilots us.
We may thank God that we cannot know the future that we do not have to know it. Christ knows; and it is better to go in the dark with him than to go alone in the light, choosing our own way.
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