Gods Sabbath

D EPENDENT R ECEIVERS

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fensive in the sight of his Father that their separation was eter nal. The temptation that his own Father had forever left Him, caused that fearful cry from the cross, ‘My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?’” Bible Echo and Signs of the Times , September 15, 1892, paragraph 2. It is true that, before He left heaven, Christ saw every step He would take on earth, together with the actions of every force which would be arrayed against Him. But when He laid aside His Deity and came to earth as Man, He accepted the limitations of those whom He came to save, and no longer possessed that in timate knowledge of His future. He became as dependent upon His Father as is any child of Adam. It is necessary in this connection to see the distinction be tween general revelations of the future as given in prophecy, and a personal, detailed survey of a specific individual’s imminent future. Christ, for instance, knew from the prophetic writings of the Old Testament that He would be betrayed and crucified, just as God’s people today know about the coming events in the world. To be informed about these impending events is impor tant, but for excellent reasons, God knows better than to ac quaint each of us with the knowledge of where we will be and what will befall us when that time arrives. While it is God’s way to give us general views of the future, He does not provide spe cific information of our responsibilities or burdens until that time comes. Because Christ is our example, we can expect to be led in the same way that He was led by the heavenly Father on a daily ba sis. If we have the faith of Jesus (see Revelation 14:12) we will be inspired to trust God implicitly. Such trust will keep us from self-confidently leaving our place, and instead will help us to re tain a humble view of our position as dependent receivers. This will enable our divine Plan Maker to lead us according to His perfect plans.