On Wings of Faith

There is the story of a man crossing the desert in the days of the early American pioneers. He had run out of water and was dying of thirst. Suddenly, he spotted a water pump near an abandoned shack. He inched his way to the pump, mustering enough strength to work the handle, but nothing happened; no water came. Then he noticed a jug near the pump with a note attached. The message read: “There is just enough water in this jug to prime the pump, but not if you drink some first. This well has never gone dry, even in the worst of times. Just pour all the water from the jug into the pump and then work the handle quickly. After you have satisfied your thirst, refill this jug for the next person in need.”

What should the man dying of thirst have done? The contents of the note called for complete trust in the person who wrote it. But if the dying…