Abram and his company had a clear aim. But does not the Epistle to
the Hebrews magnify him precisely because he 'went out, not knowing
whither he went'? Both statements are true, for Abram had the same
combination of knowledge and ignorance as we all have. He knew that
he was to go to a land that he should afterwards inherit, and he
knew that, in the first place, Canaan was to be his 'objective
point,' but he did not know, till long after he had crossed the
Euphrates and pitched his tent by Bethel, that it was the land. The
ultimate goal was clear, and the first step towards it was plain,
but how that first step was related to the goal was not plain, and
all the steps between were unknown. He went forth with sealed
orders, to go to a certain place, where he would have further
instructions. He knew that he was to go to Canaan, and beyond that
point all was dark, except for the sparkle of the great hope that
gleamed on the horizon in front, as a sunlit summit rises above a
sea of mist between it and the traveller. Like such a traveller,
Abram could not accurately tell how far off the shining peak was,
nor where, in the intervening gorges full of mist, the path lay; but
he plunged into the darkness with a good heart, because he had
caught a glimpse of his journey's end. So with us. We may have clear
before us the ultimate aim and goal of our lives, and also the step
which we have to take now, in pressing towards it, while between
these two there stretches a valley full of mist, the breadth of
which may be measured by years or by hours, for all that we know,
and the rough places and green pastures of which are equally hidden
from us. We have to be sure that the mountain peak far ahead, with
the sunshine bathing it, is not delusive cloud but solid reality,
and we have to make sure that God has bid us step out on the yard of
path which we _can_ see, and, having secured these two certainties,