Get out the Map

By Rev. Mark Lepper (a colleague – serving at St. John Lutheran Church in MN)

Pastor Mark Lepper’s blog link: http://pastormarksday.blogspot.com/

My life has become much easier since the concept of GPS has been introduced to my life. I'm not quite sure how I really got much of anywhere before I had a little computerized person in my car telling me where and when to turn. Especially since moving up here closer to the Twin Cities where I'm often required to drive into Minneapolis or the suburbs for various synod events and committee meetings. I jokingly tell people that if it weren't for my GPS I would probably still be driving around trying to find my way home.

But, because of my GPS system, I now have a nice, British woman guiding me to my destination. She tells me where to turn, and even alerts me when my next turn is coming up. If, for some reason, I am unable to turn when she tells me, or take the exit off of the highway that she wanted me to, she'll quickly figure out a different route. It has been pretty great to have that service at my finger tips.

Sometimes I wish that God would give me a GPS for my life. It would be there to guide me, tell me what decisions to make, which way to go. I wouldn't have to worry about what to do and when to do it, because the GPS (Godly Positioning System) would tell me. I wouldn't have to wonder and worry if I'm lost, if I'm somehow not on the path intended for me, or that I might have made a wrong turn back there at Albequerque.

It would make life's decisions pretty easy, I think. There'd be no risk. I'd always know, for certain, that I was on the right road because there would be that nice, British voice telling me so.

But, when I think about it, maybe that's not such a good thing. Sometimes the joy of driving is just seeing where you end up. There is adventure in trying to find a place on your own. And one thing I've noticed is that if I rely on my GPS to give me turn by turn directions, I often don't pay as close attention as I should to where I'm going, and I miss street names and landmarks that could help me figure out how I got there in the first place.

So, maybe we're not given a GPS from God because the destination isn't what's important. It's the journey there that is.