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To be corrected is not always a pleasant experience. The time to get really worried though is if the
Lord stops trying to correct us. The fact that He is still persevering with us proves that He loves us
and perceives that His efforts will be worthwhile. Have you ever heard the proverb? ‘You don’t pick
specks out of bad eggs!’ Many years ago I was holding a brothers meeting when a Priest became
annoyed with me because I tried to teach him a better working pattern. When he showed his
annoyance, I asked him, “Do you not realize it is because I love you and believe in you that I bother
to try to teach you a better way?” Then I told him that proverb about the eggs, he had to smile and
the spell was broken. He was a good Priest and I knew it.
All these WOL I dictate to my faithful secretary, my wife, who writes them down and then types
them. Afterwards the computer prints them out and I have to read them through very carefully with
an eagle eye, looking for the smallest mistakes. Maybe a spelling error, a word missed out, a typing
error, a comma that should have been a full stop etc. etc. In spite of all our meticulous proof
reading, still the odd mistake slips through. Nobody is perfect.
If we are so careful over written matter how much more careful must we be with immortal souls. I
remember many years ago I was in hospital for an operation on my left knee. Before I went into the
operating theatre the nurse sealed a linen band around my left ankle with a label attached to it on
which were written some details of the operation. I asked the nurse what she was doing. She told
me we have to be very, very careful and prevent mistakes occurring, we do not want the surgeon to
operate on the wrong leg!
It is relatively easy to say ‘I am sorry,’ after we made a mistake or had an accident but it can be a lot
more difficult or even impossible to repair the damage. Ever tried repairing a smashed glass?
Our lives are a tuition process from beginning to end. We only learn slowly by observing, adapting
our conduct accordingly and correcting our mistakes. When I drive my car I do not have to reinvent
the automobile all over again, I benefit from the knowledge and skill invested in this machine
already by countless thousands of people. God gave mankind a very great gift. The ability to pass
knowledge one to the other by written, by language or other means. Small wonder it is often said,
‘the pen is mightier than the sword.’ This is probably the greatest intellectual gift we have which
distinguishes us from all the rest of the animal creation. In addition to this God gave us an immortal
soul.
When God tries to correct us by steering our life’s course in the right direction, sometimes even
permitting us to ‘burn our fingers’ this sometimes gives rise to a conflict of wills: between our own
free will and the will of God. God did not make us automatons or robots, He wishes us to perceive
the Wisdom of His way and yield of our own free will. Correction is an expression of God’s grace
and mercy.