Faith

1. An old Scotsman operated a little rowboat for transporting passengers. One day a passenger noticed that the good old man had carved on one oar the word "Faith," & on the other oar the word "Works." Curiosity led him to ask the meaning of this. The old man, being a well-balanced Christian & glad of the opportunity for testimony, said, "I will show you." So saying, he dropped one oar & plied the other called Works, & they just went around in circles. Then he dropped that oar & began to ply the oar called Faith, & the little boat just went around in circles again--this time the other way around, but still in a circle. After this demonstration the old man picked up Faith & Works, & plying both oars together, sped swiftly over the water, explaining to his inquiring passenger, "You see, that is the way it is in the Christian life. Dead works without faith are useless, & 'faith without works is dead' also, getting you nowhere. But faith & works pulling together make for safety, progress, & blessin 2. I learned to swim in boyhood, but it was only this summer that I achieved complete mastery of myself in the water. For 30 years I had assumed that I must constantly struggle to keep from sinking. One day an expert swimmer watched me for a few minutes & then cried: "Stop fighting the water & trust it to hold you up. Use your strength & get somewhere." Under his direction, a few moments sufficed to convince me he was right. I lay flat in the water without moving hands or feet & to my delight, it held me up. Then I struck out, using my strength to forge ahead. What a revelation! Why did not someone tell me that years ago? So many constantly struggle to be Christians, when if they would only trust Christ they would be kept. 3. A man was compelled one night to cross a wide, frozen river. Notwithstanding the assurances of those who were thoroughly familiar with the region & repeatedly crossed on the solid ice, the traveler feared to undertake the trip, but finally began to crawl his way over. When near the middle of the frozen stream he was startled by a sound in the distance, & caught sight of a Negro driving a heavy team of horses pulling a great load of pig iron; yet there was not the least sign of a crack in the ice. Will the Word of God hold? Some fear to trust it. Why, man, it can't fail!