Thursday, May 25, 2006

'Firmly Anchored' by Harry Foster

SPLASH! As Donald leaned over the side of the ship he could just see where the anchor had fallen into the water, and presently he watched the chain tighten up as the vessel was held firm to its position. Their journey was near to its end; in most of the ports the ship had drawn alongside the quay, but on this occasion they had to wait out in the bay for a whole day, and so the ship was still and steady, riding at anchor.

His friend, a fellow passenger, was not there when the anchor was released, so later on when the two walked around the deck and remarked on the steady position which they were holding, Donald explained it all to him, adding: 'It makes you feel safe, doesn't it, being anchored to the rock?'

Now Donald's friend knew more about anchors than he did, so he immediately challenged this last remark, commenting: 'anchored in the mud would be more correct'. They were both members of a Crusader class, and Donald had often sung the chorus: "We have an anchor ...", so he rejected his friend's correction, insisting that of course their anchor was embedded in the rock, for otherwise the ship would be drifting away. His friend said that this was nonsense, for the anchor had to grip into the soft sea bottom, and then it could be hauled up again when the ship wanted to sail. Donald disagreed; the argument became fierce and as neither knew much about it they were glad to see the third officer approaching and decided to ask him.

His answer made fun of Donald's idea for he confirmed that the anchor was gripping into the muddy bottom, and said that if the bed of the bay had been rock, then their anchor would have just bounced off it, and by now the ship would have been dragging out to sea again.

Oh dear! Was the chorus wrong? Was the Bible perhaps wrong? What could he believe? Donald's sense of doubt and insecurity grew. He felt that he had been misled, and he got into such a state that when the voyage was over and he was back home again he almost decided not to go to Crusaders any more, as he felt that he was not told the truth.

Happily, though, he did go again, and he was sensible enough to ask the leader what was the truth about anchors. The class leader was not sure himself, but he promised to make enquiries, if possible before the coming Sunday.

He found the right man, and when he had put his question he received an answer which helped him in his own spiritual life as well as settling Donald's doubts. Around the world's coasts, including our own, there are lightships which must remain in a fixed position in order to give navigational help to sailors. These lightships do not have an ordinary ship's anchor, the kind that can be raised and lowered, for they are not made to travel, but to remain stationary. For this purpose they have to be held by special anchors which bore into the rock or solid ground, so remaining permanently fixed.

So the Crusader leader was able to explain this to Donald and to point out to him that it all depends what you want to do with your life. If you want to be always nerving about spiritually, shifting and drifting from one thing to another, then it will be good enough to have an anchor in the mud; but if you want to be spiritually steadfast, giving out to other travellers a light to guide them on their way, then you must have a different kind of anchor, the one that goes deep down into the rock and stays there.

He hardly needed to add to Donald: 'Of course, Christ is our Rock. If we really lay hold of Him by faith', he said earnestly, 'then it will be true that the billows will not move us and -- like the lightship -- we shall be grounded firm and true, just as the chorus says.'

This is not only true for Donald, but for every reader of this story. The lightship needs firm ground for its anchor; we need the spiritual Rock, the Lord Jesus, so that we can be anchored firm and deep in the Saviour's love. "Which hope we have as an anchor to the soul, both sure and steadfast ..." (Hebrews 6:19.)

[The lucid and lively articles and stories of Harry Foster, an associate of T. Austin Sparks, can be found in the magazines 'A Witness and A Testimony' and 'Toward The Mark' which are available on http://www.oscar51.net and http://www.austin-sparks.net ]

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