| Finding the Way |
Chapter 6 |
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There is a story of a ship captain who sails away over the sea on long voyages. He is deeply interested in all his duties, and performs them with utmost faithfulness. He spends long nights on deck, studying the problems of the sea and guiding his ship through the perils. At last he reaches his destination, and in due time sails back again with his cargo from foreign lands, arriving through all the dangers of the long voyage. And then – what then? He goes on shore and hurries to a quiet cottage where a little child is living in a nurse’s care, and gives into the child’s hands all that he has earned. That child is the secret of all his toil and care, the inspiration of all his voyages. He has not talked of her, nor seemed to be thinking of her, but in reality she has been at the centre of his heart all the while. If he had come back and found the cottage empty and only a little grave to lavish his love upon, he would have cared nothing for all the fruits of his success. Love is the secret.
It is worth our while to ask what the secret of our own life is. Of course, there are human loves and there are secondary motives, but what is the great central motive? Is there anything stronger than home and loved ones and earthly ambitions that impel us to toil, t struggle, to sacrifice? Saint Paul tells us the secret of his wonderful life in one little word – “The love of Christ constraineth us.”
“Under an eastern sky,
Amid a rabble cry,
A Man went forth to die–
For me.
“Thorn crowned His blessed head,
Blood stained His every tread,
Cross laden, on He sped–
For me.”
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