Rev. Don Campbell

THOUGHT FOR TODAY -THE SET OF THE SAIL

Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850-1919) reminds us:

One ship sails East,
And another West,
By the self-same winds that blow,
‘Tis the set of the sails
And not the gales,
That tells the way we go.

In the days before motorized vessels, sailors were dependant on the wind to get from one place to another. If they wished to sail in the direction from which the winds were blowing, they did it by tacking which is a maneuver in which the vessel’s bow is turned toward the wind and through a series of zig-zag movements progress is made in the direction they wished to go.

Much of life is “sailing into the wind.” Seeking smooth sailing by pointing our vessel in the direction of the prevailing social and cultural winds results in making shipwreck of our faith (1 Tim 1:19).

Another approach is to find a calm cove in which we can anchor and enjoy life. The problem is that we will never reach the port of heaven but will sit like a painted ship on a painted ocean.

If we seem to be sailing along smoothly, with no headwinds and no storms, we are probably sailing in the wrong direction.