GPS makes it possible to always know where you’ve been, where you
are, and where you’re headed—sort of the past, present, and future of
your life from a visual and geographic perspective. You never have to be
lost again!
Where in the Spiritual World Are You?
While the Global Positioning System may have been around for only
thirty years or so, there is another GPS system that has been around for
thousands of years: the Globally Positioned Spirituality system.
What’s a Globally Positioned Spirituality system? I’m glad you asked.
Think of all the spiritual “systems”—religions and worldviews—in this
world. Where do you stand in relation to them all? Feeling confused when
it comes to discerning spiritual truth from spiritual error?
What about the looming moral and ethical crises of our day? Can you
chart a path through the wilderness of amoral, secular values in our
culture? What do you believe, and why, about abortion, euthanasia,
same-sex relationships, the role of government in society, capital
crimes and punishment, war, human rights, tolerance toward other
religions, the right to worship and speak freely, and other current hot
topics?
And what about your personal spiritual “location” in this world?
Where are you headed? What have you learned from the path you’ve been
on? What course corrections do you need to make? What are your goals and
dreams, and how do they mesh with God’s plans and purposes?
God does not want us to be lost! Fortunately, He has provided us with
a Globally Positioned Spirituality system that allows us to answer all
those questions, and more. He always wants us to know what we believe,
where we stand, and Whom we can trust. When it comes to having a plan, a
course, a path to follow—God wants us to be as confident as Jesus
Christ was.
Jesus and GPS
Even during the hours of His life when Jesus suffered most, He was
never “lost.” He knew what was happening and why, and He knew exactly
what to do in the midst of the confusion surrounding Him. Jesus was
betrayed by a close friend, falsely arrested, accused, and condemned,
beaten until almost dead, crucified on a Roman cross, and died alone and
deserted by most of His followers. Yet He was never lost!
What gave Jesus the confidence to stay “globally positioned”
spiritually-speaking? Why didn’t He panic, compromise, give in, or run
away in the face of such awful circumstances? It’s because He knew who
He was and was confident in God’s purpose for His life. And where did He
gain the knowledge that gave Him such confidence? Jesus had immersed himself in a knowledge of the Word of God.
Jesus knew He would be betrayed (see Acts 1:20; Psalm 69:25; 109:8),
rejected, beaten, and afflicted (Psalm 22; Isaiah 53:3-5), and why
(Isaiah 53:6, 10). And He also knew that God would not leave Him in the
grave (Psalm 16:8-11; Isaiah 53:11)—that He would one day return to
earth as King over all the earth (Zechariah 12:10).
It was the knowledge of God and His Word that kept Jesus Christ, in
His humanity, from becoming confused and lost in the midst of an
experience the likes of which we will never know. So if Jesus was able
to stay spiritually positioned in life, can we as well?
You and GPS
Absolutely! God said to His people, Israel, during a time when they
were desperately, spiritually lost: “My people are destroyed for lack of
knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). This is an exact parallel to what Jesus told
the religious leaders of His day: “Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge” (Luke 11:52).
Knowledge of God and His Word is so important because it acts as a
benchmark against which to measure all the competing claims that the
world makes on your mind and emotions. The Word of God and an intimate,
prayerful communion with your heavenly Father are your Globally
Positioned Spirituality system. Immerse yourself in them and you, too,
will know who you are, what you believe, and where you’re headed.
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