Take me there

 

Deuteronomy 5:22-33

Preachers love GPS illustrations. Since those devices became wildly accessible, countless sermons have included them. Messages about directions of life, turn arounds, recalculating and even listening to the GPS voice. The illustration has navigated itself to almost cliché status. So, here's my take on the GPS illustration. When I attended seminary I also served a student appointment. That meant a full time school schedule and a (wink, wink) part time pastor's schedule. To say the least, if I wasn't at school, I was at church. And if I wasn't at church, I was at school. Consequently, in my four years in the DFW metroplex, I never got comfortable with the area, only my everyday route. I just wanted the GPS to take me where I wanted.  I forget where streets end up and what neighborhoods are where. If I traveled on my own, I'd be lost without the GPS device. If the Bible is God's GPS, that sounds like a good thing to say about it. In one sense, it is. But I used the GPS incorrectly. In actuality, the GPS was a crutch. It kept me from truly knowing my way around. I only went where that machine voice told me to go. As a result, I missed so much of what makes those communities what they are. Moses was leading God's people to a land they hadn't known. They would need to find their way around so they could "live long" in this unknown place. And God's commands would guide them to their new life. But not as a crutch. They had already learned something about their communion with God. "We have seen this day that God may speak to someone and the person may still live" (Deuteronomy 5:24). Now, the Lord's wisdom would show them how to flourish in their new home. Likewise, God's word isn't some banal voice telling us where to go in the fastest time. It doesn't keep us from living life. But it's possible to read it that way. To just read it. To only go where we want and simply take a Bible with us. Thankfully, there's a better way to hear God. Through the Spirit's inspiration, we can truly hear God leading our lives through this beautiful world to a newness and holiness we couldn't know otherwise.  Stay blessed...john