Our
good ship - that which so truly represents the spirit of our Fellowship rides
boldly into the future, driven by the strong winds of God. Its flags of witness
are flying, its sail well filled proclaims the Cross of Christ to all other
seafarers upon life's ocean and it is upon the Cross of Christ that we realise
our own buoyancy depends. Aloft, the crown adorns the mainmast, for our Captain
is Royal and it is the sign of His authority in the lives of those who sail with
Him.
There is a horizon too, towards which we must press if we would gain 'the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus' (Phil 3:14). That will call for all the constancy and perseverance of a holy dedication to the calling we have elected to follow, lest we drift and are cast away (1 Cor 9:27).
The skies under which we sail will not always be bright. There will be heavy troughs of depression with glowering clouds of despair until, if we live close enough to the Captain to watch His masterly handling of every changing situation, we shall learn to trust in His ability to ride out the darkest storm into the calm and sunshine which His presence brings.