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A disciple of Jesus follows after him. Jesus says, “Come.” We
respond by coming. This requires discern-ability.
Linda and I traveled from Monroe to somewhere near Columbus,
Ohio, to attend a funeral. We had never been in that part of Ohio before. Our
son Josh asked if we'd like to borrow his GPS. I had never used one before. My
mantra was: Real Men Don’t Need Direction.
I said, “OK, I’ll try it.” I typed in the destination and we took
off. Every time the British female voice commanded me to "Turn right in
400 yards," I obeyed. The GPS took us straight to our destination. I
wondered if it would even tell us where to park in the funeral home lot! I
considered getting one myself and becoming a disciple.
Our trip back to Michigan was a different experience. I like to
take new roads and see places I've never seen. Linda does, too. I pressed
"alternate route," and off we went.
Now we were driving in a foreign land, being led by our
all-seeing Global Positioning System. At one point the omni-visionary voice
said, “In 400 yards, turn right."
I was familiar with this command. Yet, somehow, it did not feel
right to me.
Full stop here. How could I know? I had never been in this place
before. I chose to ignore the smart-sounding British voice, and went my own way.
The GPS tried to reorient me, saying, "Turn around in one
mile." Then, "Turn around." Then, "Turn around, you
fool!" (Not really…)
I turned the thing off. We got lost. Finally, with encouragement
from Linda, I turned on The Voice With the Global Perspective, submitted to its
wisdom, and we made our way back home.
Not many of you were wise by human standards;
not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.[1] That describes me. Even if
we are "wise by human standards," we still see very little. To
navigate the way of life we must be able to discern the guiding voice of God.
There is a God Positioning System available to every sheep in
the fold of Jesus. His eyes roam to and fro, over all the earth. If I trust in
the divine GPS, and not in my myopic understanding, God will make straight my
path.[2]
