Article September 5, 1908 Issue

"LAUNCH OUT."

F. MAUD TURNER.

In all the comfort and encouragement which we get from the study of the Gospels nothing perhaps brings to us a greater sense of buoyant hope than does the story of the miraculous draught of fishes recorded by St. Luke. Jesus, after having taught the multitude from the ship belonging to Simon, turned to him and said, "Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught." To a fisherman such a command in the daytime must have sounded strange, and Simon answered, "Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing." Then quickly he added, "Nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net." The Master's command was obeyed, and the result was so great that the net brake, and help had to be obtained from another ship in order to handle the multitude of fish that had been caught.

In reading this narrative we too may perhaps remember a command to "launch out into the deep," when fear combined with lack of trust to prevent us from obeying, when we felt more like hugging the shore. We had been toiling all night; we had been working hard and with no success. Would it, then, be wise to act contrary to human reason, contrary to prescribed laws? Perhaps under different circumstances and with different surroundings it might be safe to obey, but—. Let us turn again to the narrative. We find there the same men, the same ship, the same net, and the same place—but a vastly different result. What then was the difference? It was surely the ready obedience to the voice of the Master, who knew that asserted material laws and conditions had in themselves no power whatsoever. Jesus knew man's God-given dominion, and he exercised that dominion. And what about past failures in that very same place, could they prevent success? Surely not. Work undertaken with an enlightened understanding would quickly bring the results of that enlightenment, even in the very same place where, toiling all night under a belief in material law, only failure had been the result.

Had our revered Leader allowed herself to be controlled by the evidence of the senses she would have been utterly discouraged. Many had been toiling for centuries, teaching mankind to pray that God's will be done on earth, when this apparently included much sickness, poverty, and misery, but she obeyed the command to "launch out into the deep," and now many thousands, with grateful thanks, are learning through her teachings that obedience to the divine law is the only way to obtain blessings—overflowing blessings, such as resulted from obedience to Jesus' command, when the Galilean fisherman proved that neither past failures, circumstances, place, nor human laws have power over the one who launches out into the deep and lets down the net. These have all realized that willing obedience to God's law brings good results, and that quickly. Ready obedience will overcome the fear that often causes mortals to "hug the shore." We sometimes hear it said, "If I can only get well, then it will be so much easier to trust God, and I am trying so hard." Had Simon stopped with his answer to Jesus, "Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing,"—would he have reaped any reward? No; but he obeyed the command—he launched out into the deep and let down the net.

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