No Dragons

An interesting map is on display in the British Museum in London. It’s an old mariner’s chart, drawn in 1525, outlining the North American coastline and adjacent waters. At that time most of the new continent’s interior had not as yet been explored with but a few hundred miles of coastline being the only evidence of what lie beyond.

The handful of explorers who had visited the Americas had relied upon the scattered Indian tribes for information about the land. In many cases, since the natives had no wish that these strange visitors from the sea should venture forth over their land, they had created fanciful tales and legends as being an accurate description of what the new land held in store for anyone adventurous or foolhardy enough to take the risk.

With these tales in mind, the cartographer made some intriguing notations on areas of the map that represented regions not yet explored. He wrote: “Here be giants,” “Here be fiery scorpions,” and “Here be dragons.”

Eventually, the map came into the possession of Sir John Franklin, a British explorer in the early 1800s. Musing over these fanciful, even mythical inscriptions, he scratched them out one by one and in their stead he wrote these words across the map:
“Here is God.” *

What lies in store for us along the "coastlines" of our lives is known only to God. But, He has not been so unkind as to give us no hope for tomorrow. He has mapped out a course that He desires that we should follow.  This Map (God’s Word) identifies:

• Where we are: lost in sin and doomed to destruction (Romans 3:23; 6:23).
   

• Where God wants us to be ultimately: in heaven with Him for an eternity (Romans 6:23; 1 Peter 1:3-4).
   

• The Way to eternal life: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).  Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (Jn14:6)

When we were lost in our sins, God sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross to pay the price of redemption for us (Ephesians 1:7).  He has promised to save those who will place their faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from their sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).  Then He wants us to continue to “fix our eyes on Jesus” and follow Him faithfully all the way to heaven (Hebrews 12:1-2).

If we trust and obey Jesus and follow Him faithfully, the promise of tomorrow is bright… NO dragons, NO scorpions and NO giants; only God – “who desires ALL men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4).

Won’t YOU trust Christ and follow Him?

David A. Sargent, Minister