"WHY LOOKEST THOU TO EARTH?"
By Lilian Huntley
LONG years ago I saw a picture bearing the above title, which showed a narrow path leading through a mountain. On each side rose huge cliffs towering far above a weary mortal slowly passing along the bending beneath a load far greater than his strength. The path he had passed over may have been bright and pleasant, but now it was lost from view, and the path before also was hidden in the depths of the great rocks. Only the bitter present was visible to him, and he bent beneath his load as tho it were "greater than he could bear." With eyes close fixed to the ground he wended his way in deep distress, while high above him was a glimpse of the beautiful sky, and hovering over him were numerous angels waiting to minister to him if he would but look up. Poor, short-sighted creature, with heaven all his own for a look, and God's messengers eager to help him, he was passing along with eyes riveted to the earth and his thoughts only on his hard path and heavy load. How many of us, like that earth-bound traveler, let our cares and troubles weigh us down, forget to look up, and thereby lose the beauty and comfort God always has at hand for His children. What if our lot is hard? He may be just putting the finishing touches to us, His handiwork. If our lines have fallen in hard places, let us take comfort in thinking that God has great faith in us to give us such a heavy load. "In just that very place of His
Where He hath put and keepeth you,
God hath no other thing to do." No other can fill our place; we only can do this work of His, and He wants us to do our best. He may be just fitting us for higher service, for a fuller life where our influence for good may be greater. So, let us forget "those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, . . . press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling [rendered 'upward calling' in the New Version, marginal notes] of God in Christ Jesus."—Lilian Huntley.