Judging by Appearance

-
While standing at the wharf of a quiet harbor, looking at the shipping which lay at anchor, we heard a young lady remark to a friend: “That nicely painted ship I would choose for a trip across the sea.” He replied: “I would not, but I prefer the dark old vessel near it. For that handsome ship is unsafe; she has been newly painted—but her timbers are rotten.” Very suggestive, we thought, of practical truth. There are painted ships on all seas. Upon the waters of life they are gaily sailing to eternity with an inward decay which will yield to the storm which awaits every mortal mariner.

Popular posts from this blog

The Spiritual Skeleton

-
An old fable tells of a man cursed with the power of seeing other human beings, not in the beauty of flesh and blood, but as skeletons gaunt and grisly. Some saints seem to have taken upon themselves this curse. Do you feel that you are the only one who is right with the Lord—that everybody else is a spiritual skeleton because he is not of the same denominational stripe or has not the same scruples of conscience as you? Take him or her into your circle of believers as Paul did, as long as they are calling upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Read more

Can’t Dispute Facts

-
What does the criticism of others do to our inner self? Take the case of Col. George Washington Goethals. While contending with the manifold problems of geography and climate in the building of the Panama Canal, he had to endure the carping criticism of countless busybodies back home who freely predicted he would never complete his task. But he pressed steadily forward in his work and said nothing. “Aren’t you going to answer your critics?” a subordinate inquired. “In time,” Goethals replied. “How?” The great engineer smiled. “With the canal,” he said.
Read more