TESTING, PURPOSE OF

He sat by a furnace of sevenfold heat,

As he watched by the precious ore;

And closer he bent, with a searching gaze,

As he heated it more and more.

He knew he had ore that could stand the test;

And he wanted the finest of gold—

To mold as a crown for the King to wear;

Set with gems of a price untold.

So he laid our gold in the burning fire,

Though we fain would have said him nay;

And he watched the dross that we had not seen,

As it melted and passed away.

And the gold grew brighter, and yet more bright;

But our eyes were so dim with tears,

We saw but the fire—not the Master’s hand—

And questioned with anxious fears.

Yet our gold shone out with a richer glow,

As it mirrored a form above

That bent o’er the fire—though unseen by us—

With looks of ineffable love.

Can we think it pleases his loving heart

To cause us a moment’s pain?

Ah! no, but he saw through the present loss

The bliss of eternal gain.

So he waited there with a watchful eye,

With a love that is strong and sure;

And his gold did not suffer a whit more heat,

Than was needed to make it pure.1381

When American Airlines trains their pilots they first seek to prove them by use of a simulator. The simulator is designed to present the pilot with a variety of potential problems so that he will be able to handle any emergency in the future. First the pilot is tested with simple challenges, which eventually build up to catastrophic situations. The pilots are given more difficult problems only after they have mastered the previous ones. The result is that when the pilots have completed their courses, they are prepared to handle any problem that comes their way.

This is similar to God’s method of working with us. God teaches us how to handle the problems of life, but never gives us more than we can handle. He teaches us through each situation, so that we can be fully prepared and mature people, ready to handle any challenge in life that might come our way.1382