IT is a glad moment for the seaman, wearied with a long and tedious passage across the ocean, when at last the pilot is received on board. Not that all his difficulties are now ended; the landing-place he is seeking to reach may not even be in sight, and he may have many perils to encounter before he arrives at his port of destination. But what cheers his heart is the fact that the pilot is on board. He has now with him in the ship one who has come out from the port he is bound for, and whose sole concern it is to guide him safely there. A thrill of gladness runs through the whole ship’s company when the pilot steps on board.
And is not this a faint picture of the joy that fills the heart of the Christian when he realizes for the first time that there is One dwelling within him whose great concern it is to conduct him to the place from which He came? I mean the blessed Spirit of God. Does not the heart of the Christian long to reach Christ? Then what an unspeakable comfort to know that it is the delight of the Holy Spirit who dwells in him to lead him to that blessed Person in glory. It gives him the sense that he is nearly home. He has a link with the place he is going to. There may be many dangers and trials yet to encounter; but whatever comes he cannot lose the Pilot. He knows every bit of the way, and will not rest till he has brought the ship safe into the longed-for haven.
Generally speaking, the first thing the pilot does when he boards a ship is to give the right course to steer. Possibly the captain may have partly lost his reckoning. He may have been driven out of his course by adverse winds or unknown currents. He may not have seen sun nor stars for many days, and knows not for certain which way to steer. He has been anxious and uncertain how to act. But when the pilot’s voice is heard there is no uncertainty. Clear and sharp the word rings out; the helmsman obeys the order, and the ship swings round with her head in the right direction.
How important it is for us who are sailing across the ocean of life to have our faces in the right direction. Well, then, the Spirit of God has “given us the course”: “Christ is our aim.” He is the Way. “To-day if ye will hear His voice” harden not your heart.
The next thing the pilot does is to look aloft to see that every bit of canvas is set that the ship will safely carry and that the sails are well trimmed. He has no time to waste; he has come to take the ship into port, and will not be satisfied till he sees that all is being done that can be done to get her in as soon as possible And does it not encourage our hearts to think that from the moment we received the Spirit it has ever been His desire to set our whole moral being in movement towards that blessed Person from whom He came? We may get careless and indifferent, but will He? Never.
Then when the pilot has satisfied himself that the ship is fairly on her course, and every sail set to the best advantage, he is free to turn to the captain and tell him what he has been longing to hear—news of home, of what is going on in the land he is bound for. And this is what the Spirit delights to do for the Christian. He came from heaven to make known the things of Christ. Oh, what can give greater joy to the Christian’s heart than to hear of Christ and His glory?
But one may ask, “How is it that some of us know so little of this?” Well, to go back to our illustration—the pilot and the captain are pacing the deck together in pleasant intercourse, when suddenly the conversation is brought to an abrupt end. The watchful eye of the pilot has detected that the ship is off her course or that a sail needs setting or trimming. And until these things are corrected he is not free to engage in conversation. So with us if we allow our minds to wander here and there; the Spirit of God is not free to take of the things of Christ and show them to us. He has to draw our attention to our own wretched failures, until they are confessed and put right.
Then there is another thing in regard to our illustration that it is important to remember. The pilot does not come on board to take actual command, but to guide and direct. The captain is still responsible for his ship; and so long as he keeps his crew under command, and is willing to be guided by the pilot, all will be well. But suppose he thinks he is quite competent himself to bring his vessel safely into port, and will not listen to the pilot’s counsel, what then? Though deeply grieved at the captain’s conduct, the pilot will not attempt to force matters. Sooner or later the captain will certainly discover his folly, and will be glad to turn to the pilot again for help. Will the pilot refuse it? Not for a moment. He will be only too glad that once more he is left free to guide the ship to her destined port.
So with the Christian. He is responsible for his own conduct (Rom. 14:1212So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. (Romans 14:12)). But if only we are subject to that blessed Spirit who dwells in us, and seek to walk in self-judgment with our eye in the right direction, He will not fail to lead us safely through the countless dangers that beset us, until at last He brings us to our desired haven. So directed we shall have an abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Have you the Pilot on board, my reader?
C. H. H.