I am a very visual person. I used to be able to trust what I see. But no longer. Society has abused my trust. When I see something beautiful on Facebook--animal, bird, scene, flower, etc.--I no longer trust that they are real. I go in search of is it real? I no longer think what a beautiful thing God created for this world for me to enjoy! I think that this is really sad. I like to collect pictures of things that God created for this world. I see them representing God and His perfection. Now I can no longer give God the credit. I have been fooled by AI--Artificial Intelligence! In fact, I get very peeved to find out that something I gave God credit for was not from Him at all! This world and society has been corrupted by deceit. We were warned that much of what we see and hear and experience will be false in the last days. Particularly there will be false miracles and false christ's! In my experience, we are already seeing the beginnings of "falseness". And it has begun with somebody thinking they can make a beautiful flower or bird look like a new species with new and beautiful combinations of petals or feather colors. God's hand made them beautiful. Man's hand makes the attempt, but he can never bring to life what he has tried to create! Satan tries to deceive but God knows the truth and someday will destroy the falseness.
I have people ask me why I keep a map handy in our car. Further, they ask me why I want to use it when we travel to places we haven't been before, whether they are far away or nearby. I get told--just use GPS, just google a map. I did use google maps once this past year! I am the kind of person that sometimes needs to turn my map around to make the direction be the same as the one I am traveling in. Pretty sad condition I find myself in. I discovered this problem when I became a college student. My roommate could sit on her bed and look at the center mirror in our room and see what she was doing as she nightly placed the old-fashioned rollers in her hair. I, on the other hand, could not use the mirror. I just sat on the bed and did it by feel. Somehow, I cannot look in the mirror and interpret what I see into action. This week, a physical therapist encouraged me to watch some videos and copy with action what I was seeing. Nope, wasn't going to happen. I promised I would try to accomplish what she was wanting me to do. Maybe, with practice, I might be able to do it. But I have my doubts. The video also demonstrated exercising both legs at the same time as exercising both arms. Yup, I failed at that too. The two motions were not the same. I am the kind that can't rub my belly and pat the top of my head at the same time. But--we all have Jesus who came to demonstrate how to live in this sinful world. He came to give us the pattern of how to do it. His life was recorded for us. We don't have to follow along watching a video. Maybe you want one, but I am very happy following the words and can review them as often as I want. I have a sheaf of papers with various exercises to do. I can review them daily or oftener. I don't need to try to follow what someone is doing. I am so glad that I have those papers to refer to. I am so glad that God left me a record to refer to.
Back to my electronic map use--when I tried to turn my google map so that it was showing me how to go in the direction we wanted to travel, you can imagine what happened. The smartphone thought I didn't know north from south from east or west. And it fixed the problem! It refused to do what I wanted to do and simply turned and changed back to what I was trying to avoid. To say the least I was very frustrated. Since then, I have learned that I can force it to leave things the way I want!!! My paper map never treats me to a point of being frustrated. I have seen that electronic devices lead people who trust their devices the long way around, or to a dead end or to never find the destination. I will admit to giving directions to a road we wanted to take and reading my paper map wrong. I suggested an exit, but it was the wrong one. We had to go miles in the wrong direction to find a way to correct my mistake. Making that kind of mistake without a map would be even worse. Navigating our lives without a map would be impossible. Again, I am so glad for the map in hand that we have available! Use your Bible! It keeps from heading down the wrong road.
Joseph and Mary took a trip long ago--at least two trips. They did it without google maps, without GPS, even without a printed atlas. But we have no record of them taking the wrong road. So, what really happened on their road trip from Galilee to Bethlehem? Nothing is written about it, but it’s important to keep something in mind: They knew their destination—Bethlehem—but they didn’t know what the journey would bring along the way.
Life is a bit like this, isn’t it? We have a plan, and then we get lost. Or maybe we start with no plan at all. Billions of people who live in poverty have no options about when, how, or where to get to and how to get out of their poverty.
Advent time is similar. We know the outcome, yes: the birth of Jesus. But what we do along this journey can be new every year. We pray, reflect, and rejoice during Advent, and each Advent season can be an entirely new and newly refreshing experience. We know the final outcome—Immanuel, God With Us—but how we get there doesn’t have a road map.
We all know that sometimes we don’t know what we don’t know. Okay, that doesn’t make a ton of sense, but think about it like this. During Advent, we know the eventual outcome: Quiet animals! Happy shepherds and singing angels! Baby presents/gifts from the wise! And if today, perhaps Mary returning those presents to Amazon! But back then, she did not even consider returning the gifts. Each one had a special meaning and represented something in the future life of the New Baby! Gold for His life as a King, frankincense for His life of ministry as God, and the myrrh for His future death and resurrection. I can only imagine what she would have thought if she had known the total picture of what was to come.
But doesn’t knowing the outcome take away some of the joy of the journey? If I had known a few years ago how quickly my life was going to change, I would have made sure that I completely enjoyed all the fun that I was enjoying back then. I don't think that I fully appreciated my life then. But I sure wish I could go back to that time. But I did not know the future.
So this Advent year, what if we don’t really know the outcome? Jesus was born two thousand years ago. That’s not going to change. But what about the rest of the season? Maybe this year, what we don’t know will surprise us. And maybe it will be with joy. Then again, maybe not. We do not have a map of any kind that tells us what tomorrow or the next day or the next year will be like. But we can expect Jesus to travel with us each day. And we can let Him lead us to the true destination. Lead us around detours and dead ends. Lead us a safe way over the mountain tops. Lead us safely on the journey till we reach Home--our Heavenly home.
The New Year is before us! It will be a journey into the unknown. It will be a journey filled with some joys and some sorrows and perhaps things that will be major detours. We can't imagine what will come and happen. We do know that each day brings us one day sooner to seeing Jesus face to face. Brings us one day sooner to the end of our journey. Journeys usually end with coming home. I will be so glad to have the end of my earthly journey! HOME!!!!!
I was often told the story about when my parents took me on a journey when I was about a year or two old. As they neared home, they did not say a word. Suddenly little me noticed with delight! The words "Here it is!" were exclaimed with excitement. I knew that though we had been gone from it for a long time, Home was in sight. I was joyous to see it. And I know that I will be so joyous to finally see the HOME that is prepared for me--and you! And then we can say--Home at last!
GPS and Atlases not needed!