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Becoming
A True Navigator
Old
sailors like to tell the story of the young sailor
learning to become a navigator.*
Aboard
the ship at sea, the captain said to him, "Please
tell us where we are."
The sailor took a sextant and made the complicated set
of calculations. After a while, he wrote down the
coordinates of longitude and latitude and handed it to
the captain. The captain studied it for a while,
checked his charts, and then said to the young
navigator:
"Are you absolutely convinced that
these are the right coordinates?"
"Yes,
sir, I'm absolutely convinced."
"You know exactly where we are?"
"Yes, sir."
"There could be NO
conceivable mistake in your calculations?"
"Absolutely NOT, sir. I've done my best."
Then the captain said, "Well, then I would
suggest you put on a jacket."
"Why, sir?" "Because
according to YOUR calculations, we are planted
squarely at
the TOP of Mount Washington!"
God
has given to us a Guidebook to provide guidance for
our lives. This Guidebook is: the Bible (2
Timothy 3:16-17).
It was given to be “a lamp to our feet and a
light to our path" (Psalm 119:105).
Proper use of this God-given Manual not only
reveals where
we are but ALSO where
we need to be!
The
Bible reveals –
"There is a way that seems right to
a man – but its END is the way of death."
(Proverbs 14:12)
We are directed rather to: "Trust in the
Lord with ALL your heart and lean NOT on your OWN
understanding. In
ALL your ways acknowledge Him and - HE will direct
your paths!" (Proverbs 3:5-6)
The
Bible reveals –
that in order to reach our proper destination, we need
to be
in
Christ, i.e. in a proper relationship
with God through His Son Jesus Christ.
Our Manual also informs us that a penitent
believer in Christ is baptized
into
Christ (Galatians 3:27).
Once in Christ....
we are instructed to CONTINUE to follow the Manual
until we reach our intended destination:
Heaven. Our
Guidebook makes known to us that Jesus opened up the
way for us through His sacrificial death on the cross
for our sins (Hebrews 10:19-22).
"Be
diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker
[or, a navigator] who does not need to be ashamed,
rightly dividing [or handling correctly] the word of
truth [i.e., our instruction Manual]" (2 Timothy
2:15).
Let
US allow the "light" of God's Word to -SHOW-
us the proper
course.
And may we ALSO be diligent to -FOLLOW-
that course, so that we may reach that
wonderful harbor of heaven!
God bless you.
David A. Sargent,
Minister
Church of Christ at Creekwood
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama 36695
* From Gordon MacDonald
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