Level Ground
In certain spots the contour of hills gives a tremendous illusion that the law of gravity is askew. Near Los Angeles there is a hill where thousands of motorists stop their cars, shut off the engines, release the brakes, and seemingly roll uphill. But if a plumb level is placed on the ground where the cars "roll up the hill," it can be seen immediately that the cars are actually rolling downhill. The eye can be deceived; the level cannot.
God has given us a similar apparatus - the Bible. When our situation in life is placed next to the Word of God, the Holy Spirit immediately establishes the true aspects of the situation and reveals whatever unevenness or distortion there is. It is not safe to form judgments on the basis of our senses or our emotions - we must prove and test all things (1 Thess. 5:21).
I thought of this as I read a heart-moving story of a garden which had been created for handicapped children. The donor had established a place where the crippled can play in surroundings of beauty, and even a bench of flowers for the blind that might be marked in Braille, "Please touch the flowers." It contains thornless cacti and a patch of herbs including several fragrant geraniums such as the lemon, rose, nutmeg, and mint varieties. The news report said that within hours of its dedication, the exhibit's leaves had been thoroughly pawed and many a blind child had pressed scented fingers to nostrils dilating with the joy of discovery.
Anyone with sensitivity cannot fail to be moved by such a story. Someone who heard the story wondered if the project was created by a Christian. A search soon revealed that the creator and donor was active in a religion that denied the Lord Jesus Christ. I remembered the passage in Romans where God condemns those who "rely on the law and pride yourselves in God and know his will and through education in the law have an idea of the essentials, and you believe yourself to be a guide to the blind, a light to those in darkness, a trainer of the simple, a teacher of the immature. . ." (2:17-20). Good and heartwarming as it is to let blind children touch flowers that are chosen for their fragrant and pungent qualities, such acts are not to he confused with spiritual actions that proceed from the presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer.
Yes, many believers in Christ are so selfish, in spite of that which has been done for them, that they come out in second place in such social works as fragrant gardens for the blind, and ten thousand other similar works in the social realm. I wish that a believer in Christ had thought of this idea first, and had put it into effect. I wish that many such kindnesses could be thought up and performed in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
But let us avoid confusion in thinking that such actions are the guarantee of life in God and favor with Him. The level must be used in every situation in life. Then we will be able to say with the Psalmist, "My foot stands on level ground" (Ps. 26:12).
1. What kinds of worldviews would say that we can only trust what we see? How do we know that this is a faulty way of thinking?
2. A Pastor/ Missionary once said “All complaining calls into question the goodness and wisdom of God.” How is this quote compatible with Dr. Barnhouse’s main point?
