He Is Worthy of Our Confidence
By W. W. Wheeler
MANY of the questions that come to our minds and bother us are very easily settled when we take into consideration who and what God is, and who and what we are. He is Creator, all-righteous; we are creatures, all-sinful. When we behold His saving grace manifested in the gift of Christ, how can we ever conceive that any act of His in connection with humanity is born of aught else than all-wise love? or that these several acts, each and all, do not work for the best good of each and every individual? In many of the acts of God, especially those that He wrought in Jesus during the three and one half years of heavenly ministry here among sinful men, the marks of love and wisdom are clearly evident to us, despite our blindness and hardness of heart. There are other acts that may not at first reveal to us so clearly His loving-kindness; but when the mind is illuminated by more of His Word and Spirit, these also are recognized as the merciful workings of the One who knows the end from the beginning. But as our physical eyes have not the power to discern in the night as readily as in the day, or to penetrate the sun’s rays and discover the sun itself, so likewise are there depths in God’s dealings with mankind which our spiritual understanding is too weak to comprehend. Here faith grasps firmly the Word that speaks His love. Thousands have never seen the ocean, but they have heard and read of it from travelers, they have seen it represented on the maps, they have full confidence that it is as vast as it is represented. Equally worthy of our confidence are the testimonies of our Father’s boundless love. Some raise the question of rights. Tell me, how has the creature secured rights over the Creator? How has sinful man, or anything that comes forth from him, secured rights over the One who created him upright, and against whom he sinned? Rather than argue for rights, let us break forth in praise of the self-denial that has freely provided us a Saviour, and of the long-suffering that grants us here the unmerited opportunity of choosing Him, and following Him in loving service. Some tell us that God is working against man. Yes, He is. How does this come about? How does it come about that things are heavy?—Because gravitation is drawing them all in a downward direction. When we hold or lift anything, we work against the power of gravity as manifested in that object. God’s loving acts are ever manifest, holding and lifting man against the power of sin, which is pulling him downward. Yes, God is against all man’s natural inclinations, and this is our salvation. Man is walking away from God, and God keeps putting obstacles in his way to stop him. He calls to him, to get him to turn about. God is love, and has an eternal life appointment for man; therefore He is doing all that is possible to stop him in his downward way to eternal death. Let us face about, and work with Him to make our calling and election sure. W. W. WHEELER,
Ambato, Ecuador.