THERE is a story told of a father who explained to his little son the Mariner’s Compass and showed him how it could guide the sailors over the sea, as well as the travelers upon land.
The boy was so pleased with the idea that he begged his father to lend him his compass, and to allow him to try it for himself. The father gave him the compass and permitted him to find his way alone through the forest, which was close to his home. The little fellow struck off confidently into the depths of the forest, compass in hand, and much to his delight, it led him safely, after much walking, back to his father, who received him with expressions of affection and joy.
As we read this story, our minds naturally turn to the compass which God has given us, to direct us safely from earth to heaven. The Bible is our unerring guide, and those who follow it, can never miss their way. It is far better, and surer than the compass about which we are speaking, because God’s compass never can lead us astray, if we humbly seek the teaching of the Holy Spirit in reading its truths. Sometimes the Mariner’s compass has failed to point true and then the consequences are very terrible.
A sad story is told of a vessel that was once driven upon a dangerous coast and lost. The pilot thought he was steering straight for the harbor but all the time he was directing the ship towards the rocks upon which she perished. The owners tried to fix the loss of the vessel upon the officers in charge, but neither the pilot’s skill, nor the captain’s fidelity nor the prompt obedience of the crew, could be doubted. At length, it came to light that a passenger was trying to smuggle a basket of steel into port, and had hidden the unlawful merchandise in his berth. The berth lay nearly under the compass, and the attraction of the steel swerved the needle from the north, thus deceiving the pilot and causing the ship to drive upon the rocks, and become a complete wreck.
Sin, hidden in the heart, will surely wreck our souls, as the unlawful steel hidden in the ship led to its destruction. You remember the words of the Psalmist,
“If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.”
God will never have a divided heart. He wants it all. God wishes us to use His Word, as the little boy used his compass.
ML 04/19/1925