This Is Our Father's World

Another thing that ministers to human gladness, is the goodness of God in providence . Not only is this a beautiful world, but the heavenly Father's care for his children appears in all its life. Jesus taught this when he pointed to the birds and the flowers, and said that even for these, his lowlier creatures, God cares. "Behold the birds of the Heaven, that they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns — and your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you of much more value than they?" "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin — yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." The wondrous teaching which our Lord drew from this, was not merely that God feeds the birds and clothes the flowers, but that his care for his own children is far more tender and constant than his care for his ravens and his lilies. "Are you not of much more value than they?" How much more shall he care for you?

It ought to be a great source of gladness to us to know that as vast as this world is, our Father's care extends to its smallest events — to the weaving of a tiny flower's beautiful garments and the feeding of a troublesome sparrow — as well as to the movements of planets. "If I could not believe," said one, "that there is a thinking mind at the center of things — life would be intolerable to me." But the teaching of our Master is that a Father's heart beats in all nature and providence, and that a Father's love works in all events and experiences. On every leaf is written a covenant of divine love; on every flower and tuft of moss is found a pledge of divine faithfulness and care.

A little story-poem tells of a shepherd boy leading his sheep through a valley when a stranger, meeting him, and looking closely at his flock, said, "I see you have more white sheep than black ."

"Yes," answered the boy; "it is always so."

It is always so with sheep; there are more white ones than black in every flock. But we may take a wider view, and we shall find that everywhere in life, there is more white than black.

It is so in nature. There are some desert spots on the earth; but these are few, and their extent is small in comparison with the broad, fertile fields which spread everywhere.

There are some sad people in every community; but the number is far exceeded by the multitude of those who are happy.

There always are sick and crippled and blind and suffering ones; but they make only a small proportion of the whole population of any place, the great majority being well, active, and strong.

There are cloudy days in every year; but there are more days of sunshine and blue skies.

In any life , too, there is more white than black. Some people are not willing to confess that this is true with them. They imagine that . . . the evil days are more in number than the good, there is more cloud than blue sky in their life, they have more sorrow than joy.

But this is never true. There may be days when the darkness swallows up the light, but at evening time it shall be light. Really, the list of mercies in any life, if added up through the years, would make a measureless record — while the sad and painful things, if summed up, would show an almost inappreciable list.

The trouble with too many people is that one little spot of darkness appears so large in their vision, that it hides a whole heaven full of stars. One sorrow blots out the memory of a thousand joys. One disappointment makes them forget years of fulfilled hopes. Many people have a strangely perverted faculty of exaggerating their molehills of trouble into mountains , and looking at their blessings through diminishing lenses.

It would minister greatly to our gladness, if we had a firm faith in the goodness of God's providence which rules in all the affairs of our life. There is infinitely . . . more mercy than misery in the world, more pleasure than pain, more white than black.

Then, even the things that seem adverse, have hidden in them a secret of blessing. "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose!" Romans 8:28. In every tear — a rainbow sleeps!

It is said that one of the great diamond fields of South Africa was discovered in this interesting way: One day a traveler entered the valley, and paused before a settler's door where a boy was amusing himself by throwing stones. One of the stones fell at the feet of the visitor; and he picked it up, and was about to return it to the boy when he saw a flash of light from it which arrested his attention, and made his heart beat with eager surprise. The stone was a diamond! The boy had no thought of its value; to him it was only a plaything. To the passer-by it was only a common pebble which he spurned with his foot. But to the eye of the man of science — a gem of surpassing value was enfolded in the rough covering.

So it is that many of the events of God's providence appear to ordinary eyes as uninteresting, without meaning, ofttimes as even unkindly, adverse. Yet in each event there is wrapped up a divine treasure of good and blessing for the child of God. We need only eyes of Christian faith to find in every painful experience — a helper of our gladness. Precious gems of rarest blessing are enclosed in the rough crusts of hardship, affliction, loss, and trial, which we are constantly coming upon in life's pathway. We shall find when we get home to Heaven , that many of the things from which we have shrunk as evils, have been the bearers to us of our richest treasures of good .

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