Spoiled by my GPS and AppleMaps

When I was a kid my family would load up the van every couple of summers and head off to upstate New York to visit my grandmother’s family. It was a 3 day drive up and a 3 day drive back. Sometimes our trips would include added stops – sometimes planned and sometimes not planned. One Summer we ended up in Gettysburg PA for 2 days, another summer we found our way to DC for some site seeing, and another trip took us to Niagara Falls (that’s a lot of water).

What I remember most about our trips was the anticipation. As a dad, I cringe when I hear my boys say “are we there yet?” I cringe because I know I pestered the fire out of my parents as we drove. I remember vividly a specific moment when I was about 10 years old – a response to the question. Mom looked at me from the rearview mirror, sighed deep and then threw something in the back seat. It was a “trip-tick” from AAA. I remembered watching the AAA employee pull sheets and maps and load them into a spiral bound map that we would use – but now, mom was handing me the role of navigator. I thought I was hot stuff – I was going to be able to tell mom where to go. She was just trying to get me to see that it takes time to go places.

Today, we don’t use AAA trip-ticks. Instead we have GPS maps on our phones. We have WAZE that tells us when there are police in the area (obviously so we will drive safe, not just slow down). I use AppleMaps on my phone almost every day. Partly because I’m still getting to know side roads in Lexington. In truth, the real reason I use maps, even for trips I could make blindfolded, is because I want to know how much time it’s going to take to get me from point A to point B. I’m still the kid whining and asking “how much longer” or “are we there yet”.

I was once told that the Bible is our roadmap for life – that if we read it, then we’ll know what to do and where God is calling us. I guess, as a Pastor, I have to say that I agree. But can I be honest? Sometimes I feel more lost after I read a passage of scripture than I was before I opened up the Word and gave it a shot. For sure, Scripture includes all kinds of answers and a lot of very practical advice – but sometimes the answers aren’t quite as clear as I’d like. Sometime the answers I’m seeking almost seem to contradict another passage. Sometimes, more often than I’d like to admit, the answers I find in scripture are hard – things I wish were different, or I could just ignore. Some times I get answers I like, sometimes I don’t. And some of the answers point in a direction, but still doesn’t give me a clear way to get there.

Of course, we have to ask the question, Are the scriptures a GPS or Roadmap that we need to take to get us from point a to point b? I’m not so sure.  A GPS is designed with a specific end goal – namely direct you to a destination on a map. Scripture is designed to move us in a direction, but not in the same way. Scripture isn’t a program that will tell us what to do, instead Scripture is God’s revealing. It’s God’s story that intends to get us not to a destination, but to a person. For within the pages we read the stories of others who have been searching for their way. We learn from the mistakes and missteps of others, and we find ourselves in their detours, direct routes, and pitstops. And in those steps, we meet not just crazy characters, but we meet God’s character.

I believe Scripture does contain what I need to help me manage and maneuver my life. I find within the pages of Holy writ moments of dependence, nurture, danger, deep sadness, joy and hilarious moments that prove God has a sense of humor. But if I treat this book solely as an set of instructions, like I’m putting together some ikea furniture, then no wonder I’m frustrated and often find myself lost (insert Ikea instruction joke here). Instead, I have to begin with the idea that as I read God is inviting me on a journey – a journey to know him. It’s not just about some final destination, it’s bout the process of growing from whiny kid to realizing that the trip is going to take a while.

This is my encouragement today – I know God has a destination. I know that God sees me as the complete and whole Child that he has rescued and offered a future. I know that’s how he sees me, and I also know that I’m not there yet. And I guess, if God is okay with me still asking, still finding myself on roads that are less than desirable, still watching me take pit stops that weren’t necessary, and that
he’s still with me, then that makes my irritation of not being there yet a little more bearable. The Father has us in his hands – and for now, that’s all the direction I need.

 

grace and peace