Staff Meeting - 1947

The Assyrian Empire was in power when this prophesy was uttered by Isaiah. The Assyrians were very powerful and seemed to be invincible. It was feared that they might crush the Israelites, God’s chosen people, through whom he meant to work out his purpose of redemption for the world. Israel’s defeat would be interpreted as God’s failure to fulfil his purpose for the world. ‘No,’ says Isaiah, the Assyrian will be defeated and Israel will be saved and God will fulfil his purpose for the world. ‘As I have proposed, so shall it stand.’ Those who are using the BRF notes for their daily devotions will remember this text in the portion for Dec. 28 th , the Innocents Day, the day on which we remember the Massacre of the Innocents at the time of Christ’s birth. Herod must have felt certain that his wicked plan to destroy Jesus was bound to succeed, but Herod was wrong. Jesus was saved. God’s eternal purpose stands; men may thwart it, untold suffering may ensue, but it must in the end prevail. During the six years of war we witnessed all kinds of evil let loose in the world. We saw the destruction and ruin of individuals and nations, all moral codes set aside and evil seeming to triumph over goodness. Hitler seemed all powerful and God powerless. It looked as if God had no control over the affairs of men. It was so difficult for us, in those days, to believe in the ultimate fulfilment of God’s purpose of goodness in the world. It was our Christian faith that kept us up during those most trying years. The Christian faith is that from the beginning there has been with God an intention of good for his world and for his creatures; there has been a creative desire in God that men should achieve their destiny as sons in his family. God reigns supreme and controls the affairs of men with that one purpose. Men may act contrary to the will of God and may cause untold misery, but it is only for a time. God’s eternal purpose stands and it is a purpose of goodness and not evil, redemption and not destruction. Thank God that the horrors of war are over and the events of the world have turned out to be such that we can reaffirm our faith in God’s purpose of goodness for the world. It is that faith that we must carry all through our life, even when we are faced with hardship and suffering which tend to destroy our faith. As we start this New Year let us reaffirm our belief in God’s purpose of goodness for his world, and in the ultimate of goodness in spite of events that may point to the contrary. Inherent in this view is the belief that God has called his children into cooperation with himself for the accomplishing of the purpose. He has called you and me to cooperate with him in working out his purpose. It was this conviction that prompted the founders of our schools to establish these institutions in our country. It was their intention that our institutions should be instruments in the hands of God for the fulfilment of his purpose.

For some time various attempts have been made to turn us away from the ideals and aims for which our institutions have always stood. Vigorous attempts have been made to change or even destroy the character and quality of the education imparted in our schools. We have to be watchful to ward off the many insidious attacks on our institutions. I am sure all of us realise that we are passing through a critical period in the history of our schools. Never before in our life time have we been called upon to make decisions that would affect the whole future of our schools. The year 1947 will usher in the new constitution and when politicians have finished with their canvassing and electioneering campaigns, we believe that they will be in a fit state of mind to put forward a definite policy on education in the new parliament. They will then be ready to plan something that will be good for the whole country and not just what would please the voters. Let us hope and pray that wise counsel and sound judgment would prevail, and that our leaders would be saved from all pettiness of outlook and meanness of ideals and work for the good of the people. For us at St. John’s particularly, the year 1947 is a year when we have to make decisions of vital importance, for before the end of the year we must make up our minds whether we are to accept the Free Education Scheme or not. In all our decisions let us keep in mind two things in spite of all odds:

1. God’s eternal purpose of goodness stands in spite of man’s efforts to thwart it.
2. He expects us to cooperate with him in working out his purpose. He has called you and me to cooperate with Him in and through the work of our schools. So, on the first day of this school year, let us dedicate ourselves to the task of making our schools worthy instruments in God’s hands for working out his purpose. ‘Surely, as I have thought so shall it come to pass, and as I have proposed so shall it stand.’