"Recalculating Route"

GPS Recalculating Route

the trusty road atlas

I guess, by now, just about everyone owns some type of GPS device; whether it's the old school Garmin suction cupped to your car windshield, or your smartphone, or the GPS that came standard on your vehicle (which is obviously much newer than mine.) In the old days, if you were trying to get from Point A to Point B, you had to rely on a map. But even with a map, you had to figure out the best route to take. And then you had to try to not kill yourself and others while you periodically glanced over at the map.

But now, the magical GPS device not only routes you to your intended destination, but it also gives you turn-by-turn directions as you go. How did we ever get anywhere in the old days? Oh yeah, that's right.... we sometimes got lost or went the wrong way.

As a Christian, I strive to live my life in accordance with how God wants me to live. I believe that God has a will for my life and my desire is to live in such a way that I am in His will. Ultimately, God desires to be in relationship with me (you too!) and, because of the saving work of Jesus, I, despite my sin, have been restored into relationship with Him.

I have had conversations over the years with fellow Christians who have lamented to me about some thought, action or direction they have taken that they believe has taken them outside of God's will. And because of that, they struggle with the fear that they may have strayed too far from God and cannot find their way back. They feel like they are off-track...they feel lost. They may believe that God is mad at them and maybe has turned His back on them.

Gotten off track? Who hasn't?

Have you ever disobeyed your GPS? Maybe you deliberately chose to not follow the turn-by-turn direction because you thought you had a better way to get to where you were going. Sometimes we just get busy or distracted and sometimes we just miss a turn. If your GPS is like mine, you likely have heard these comforting words.... "recalculating route." Sure, you have gotten off track but your GPS knows where it is you want to go and it does not give up on you. If you get off route, it simply considers where you now are.... even if you are way off track, and assures you that it can still get you to where you are going.

I think God is a lot like my GPS. If you are seeking God and have a desire to be on the road leading to Him, he'll get you home. He can work with the wrong turns you have made. He can provide a new way to get there even when you deliberately ignore the previous instructions. "Recalculating route." Every time my GPS says that I get the assurance that I can still get to where I am going.

Repent! U Turns Allowed!

Sometimes I have gotten so far off track when traveling that my GPS gives me a very interesting instruction... "at the next safe location....turn around." You know you've messed up when you get that command. "Turn around." You need to do a complete change of direction when you get that one. Most of us are familiar with the word- repent. It's one of those bible words that we don't say very often and we might think it's one of those weighty theological terms. But it has a pretty simple definition. Repent basically means turn around... maybe more specifically- change the way you think. Sometimes I simply need to make some minor adjustments. Sometimes I need to repent!

Can you imagine if, when you got too far off track, that your GPS said... "I'm done with you. You obviously do not want to listen to me and my guidance so you are on your own. Goodbye." What kind of GPS would that be?

Your GPS does not do that.... it will continue, no matter what, to keep working to get you to your destination. God does not give up on you either. No matter how off-track you have gotten, He continues to say, "OK... I can still get you home from there." He's always working to get us home... to Himself.

Next time your GPS says "recalculating route," I want you to smile and think about how your Heavenly Father is there always guiding you to where you need to go.

No child left behind

Every time I hear or read about the federal government's "No Child Left Behind" I am reminded of the story in the Bible of Jesus being left behind at the temple when he was 12 years old. The story is found in Luke 2:41-52 if you want to look it up. If we are honest, those of us that are parents probably have at least one story of leaving our child behind or forgetting to pick our child up at the appointed time, effectively deserting our child if only for the briefest moment. The passage of time usually make these stories much funnier than how our mood was when the event actually occurred.

Jews were required to attend three annual festivals in Jerusalem...Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles but, for poorer people, especially those that lived farther away, Passover was sometimes the only one that was strictly observed. It is during the Passover festival that the account in the Luke passage takes place. I have always found it interesting that Mary and Joseph lost Jesus. I'm sure there were many people that had traveled to and from Jerusalem with them and so it would be easy for each to assume that the child was with the other or with other family or friends. I find it even more interesting that they lost Jesus at church (the temple.)

I think it can be easy to get lost at church. Oh, I don't mean you or others not knowing where you are...I also don't mean lost as in "not saved" in evangelical terms. I mean lost.

Church can be a difficult place, especially for someone that hasn't been a part of church all their life. Church people talk a little differently, using phrases that may not be understood by everybody. People also seem to think that when they are at church they are supposed to put on their most joyous faces, even if nothing on the inside feels very joyful. We can get lost in all the church activities. They can sometimes be a little overwhelming. Often we feel lost if we believe that we can't participate as much as other people..maybe making us feel a little guilty.

Despite all those people, church can also be a very lonely place, especially if we don't quite fit the mold. Maybe it's a guy or gal in their late 20's or early 30's who hasn't found (or doesn't want to) their companion for life and the people around you continue to ask...and ask ..when? Maybe you are a younger person who is only there because Mom or Dad makes you go. Maybe you are a person whose life took a path that included divorce or problems with the law or business failure or addiction or homelessness or something else that doesn't fit the "Leave it to Beaver" or "Brady Bunch" model. We can also get lost in all the theology and a feeling that we aren't scholarly enough regarding the Bible. We can start to think that maybe God isn't as interested in those of us that can't quote chapter and verse.

Maybe we wouldn't feel so lost if, instead of people telling us they are are praying for us when they know of our difficulty, they would just listen and talk to us. The prayers are important but sometimes we just need another person to listen and hold our hand. Some of our churches are so large we feel like we are on a university campus. Sometimes it can make us feel very small, insignificant, unnoticed....lost.

Have you ever gotten lost at church? Don't feel like you are alone... I think all of us at some point felt a little like "a child left behind."

The truth is that Jesus wasn't at all lost at the temple. Because He was with His Father. And if you are feeling a little lost at church...take comfort in knowing that your Heavenly Father is always there with you...even when you aren't "at church." He wants No child left behind.