When I was very small I dug a large hole in our backyard. It was large to me. Most likely it was very small. When my Dad asked why, I explained that I was digging my way to China because there were hungry children there and I wanted to drop food to them. Being very kind to me and being the school teacher that he was, he took me inside where we had a globe. (I still have it.) He very carefully showed me that my hole would not come out in China but instead in the southern Indian Ocean. I immediately realized I must stop digging or all the water in the Indian Ocean would fall into my hole and flood Pennsylvania.
Often I hear people speak with great authority about the nature of God. I have even been told where heaven is. I hear how old the earth is and what happened to the dinosaurs. I hear explanations for human behavior and am amazed at the certainty of the speaker. And yet often I cannot explain my own behavior. Perhaps it makes people feel secure and good about themselves if they can claim to be an authority in some area.
I am suspicious that most of us are like a little boy digging a hole in the backyard. We think we have it all worked out and we could not be more wrong. But, lest I leave you with the impression that I am totally ignorant I would like to claim a sure knowledge of something shared with me by Paul. I want to join Paul in saying, “I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.” II Timothy 1:12. That is security.
Spring Of Life