God’s Magnificent Mirror: The Helmsman

And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!”
And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
~ From Mark 4

Do you see yourself in this boat?
Rather than look for ourselves, let’s look for our salvation.
Look at that man with the strong hand and the confident visage. He is Our Salvation.

Keep your eye on the helmsman.

We welcome the Brothers Getz to our worship service today as they share their love for Christ through music. Our closing number today, “The Helmsman,” was inspired by the following letter…

Dear Miss Bodle —

I think it possible that what is keeping you from belief in Christ’s divinity is your apparently strong desire to believe. If you don’t think it true, why do you want to believe it? If you do think it true, then you believe already! So I would recommend less anxiety about the whole question. You believe in God and trust Him. Well, you can trust Him about this. If you go on steadily praying and attempting to obey the best light He has given you, can you not rely on Him to guide you into any further truth He wishes you to know? Or even if He leaves you all your life in doubt, can’t you believe that He sees that to be the best state for you? I don’t mean by this that you should cease to study and make enquiries: but that you should make them not with frantic desire but with cheerful curiosity and a humble readiness to accept whatever conclusions God may lead you to. (But always, all depends on the steady attempt to obey God all the time. “He who does the will of my Father shall know of the doctrine.”)

As for books, the v. best popular defence of the full Christian position I know is G.K. Chesterton The Everlasting Man. Miscall The God-Man might also help. It is only fair to tell you my impression is that you are in fact very much nearer to belief in Christ than you suppose; and that if you really face the opposite view tranquilly (and why be afraid of it unless you already know in your bones that the Christian view is true) you will find you don’t really believe it –i.e., don’t really believe that all you have got out of the books you mention is bred on an illusion –when If an illusion at all, must be a most blasphemous and horrible one. Conversions happen in all sorts of different ways: some sharp & catastrophic (like St. Paul, St. Augustine, and Bunyan) some v. gradual and intellectual (like my own). No good predicting how God will deal with one: he has his own way with each of us.

So don’t worry. Continue all your efforts. You are being steered by another: you’ve only got to row—and therefore the future journey is behind your back. I’m pretty sure where you’ll land, myself, and you will then wonder how you ever doubted it. But you needn’t keep looking over your shoulder too often. Keep your eye on the Helmsman. Keep your conscience bright and your brain clear and believe that you are in good hands. (No one can make himself believe anything and the effort does harm. Nor make himself feel anything, and that effort also does harm. What is under our own control is action and intellectual enquiry. Stick to that. All good wishes,

Yours sincerely, C.S. Lewis

News & Announcements:

• NO PRAYER GATHERINGS UNTIL AUGUST (But keep praying!)
• Advocate/Bromenn Prayer Partner for July: Mother/Baby Unit … This unit is now part of the new wing at Advocate/Bromenn. A place of great joy… and also great concern… and sometimes great sorrow. Pray for the babies, moms, families and staff.
• Softball @ 7:00 this week
• Ask Bruce or Lyn…
  … how you can help with the garden. Many of the varieties are coming into harvest time. You can have anything you want to pick, but please make sure it is truly ready.
• Mother/Baby Shower @ church this afternoon @ 2:00 for Linda and Ryan Kelley.
• Next week we’ll travel to Zimbabwe with FEC Medical Missionary Anna Mortenson: Anna will bring a brief and refreshing report on her work as a nurse in a remote hospital.