A WISE MAN

Matthew 7:24: Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock.

General William Booth was the founder of the Salvation Army. One day his son came to tell the old general, who had struggled long with poor vision, that the doctors could do no more for his eyes.

"Do you mean that I am blind and must remain blind?" the general asked.

"I am afraid that is true," said his son.

The general moved out his hand until he felt and clasped the hand of his son. "God must know best," he said. "I have done what I could for God and the people with my eyes. Now I shall do what I can for God and the people without my eyes."

Booth's tranquility in trouble came from a life in which selfishness had surrendered. He trusted God and cared for men.

Asked one day for the secret of his success, he answered: "I will tell you the secret. God has had all there was of me to have. There have been men with greater opportunities; but from the day I got the poor of London on my heart and a vision of what Jesus Christ could do, I made up my mind that God would have all there was of William Booth. And if there is anything of power in the Salvation Army today, it is because God has all the adoration of my heart, all the power of my will, and all the influence of my life."

The old general's secret was not original. Nor did he claim it to be. His Saviour had voiced it many years before. Booth had built his life on the Rock (Christ). This Foundation stands in the storm!