Fire! Fire! The school is on fire:” The children were busily doing their lessons one morning when someone burst open the door of their classroom and shouted that terrible message. At once nearly all the children sprang from their seats and rushed toward the door, until there was danger of their being trampled down in their efforts to get out quickly. During this and panic there was one dear little girl who sat quietly in her place and didn’t move at all.
Soon it was found that the alarm was false, and the pupils again went back to their places in the classroom. Then the girl next to little Mary turned and said to her, “Mary, how is it that you could sit so quiet and unafraid when everybody else rushed out?”
“My father told me,” said Mary quietly, “that if there was an alarm of fire, it was best for us to sit still in our seats and wait for the teacher to tell us what to do. My father is a fireman—and he knows best.”
Here was faith. Mary trusted her father’s word, and she was not afraid. Earthly fathers do make mistakes sometimes, but we have One whom we can always believe and trust, even though many around us may be frightened. God tells us in His Word,
ML 11/12/1950