Where Are You Going?

Hebrews 11:8-10, 13-16

Last week we came to understand that we must understand our purpose if we are to ever be what God wants us to be. We have come to understand that in our lives we must strive to answer the question, Why? No more are we going to walk through life without a clear sense of purpose. When we understand our purpose we can begin a long journey and continue knowing that what lies ahead of us is better than what we left behind and is better than where we are now.

Global Positioning System

This is a system that helps us find certain points on the earth with an amazing amount of accuracy. It works on knowing that if you know three points or locations then you can find a given location to a varying degree of accuracy. The process is called triangulation and the military has used it for years, its what guides cruise missiles to their targets, it also aides in search and rescue as well as many other applications. With a decent signal you can find a point to within six feet of its actual location on the ground. Think of GPS as a compass on steroids.

Geocaching

In recent years the GPS technology has become available to the general public and so know we can enjoy this same technology and put it to use in many areas of our own lives. Hunters, Fishermen, Hikers, Farmers, Cars, Law enforcement, Emergency Services, can all use GPS.

Here lately a new outdoor activity has emerged called Geocaching, and at its heart is the Global Positioning System. People find interesting, scenic spots to place what they call a “cache”. Usually this is a small Tupperware bowl with a lid on it, with a pencil, paper and other trinkets inside. Then they get on the internet and post the exact Latitude and Longitude for the cache, and then people take those coordinates and go and find this cache. Think of this as a global scavenger hunt. Well this last week my brother has gotten me into this geocaching, and yesterday we went looking for a cache that was up in Lexington.

My Experience

Getting Prepared: the night before we got on the internet and found the spot we were going to look for, but we didn’t just up and go without doing a little research.

We got online and found maps of the area, we got a street map to help us get close without getting lost. We found a map that showed us the exact terrain of the area where we were going. We even found aerial photographs of the area, using all of these we were able to get a better idea of where we were going.

We even read experiences from others who have found this same spot, and they helped by giving us more information about the area. With all this information we developed a plan of how we were going to find this box in the middle of a heavily wooded area.

What is interesting though is the fact that even with all this information we still only had a general idea of how we would get there and what path we would take through the woods, and we only had a relative idea about where this thing was.

So when we set out we had to rely completely on the information in our hands to get us close then we simply had to look around for ourselves to find the cache, and after awhile we did find it.

For most people this wouldn’t be a spiritual experience, but for me I couldn’t help see how this same experience reflects our lives.

Church’s direction

Abraham knew that he was on a journey to a better place, he knew that God had promised to lead him into a land that he could call his own and bless him with a family that would live on for generations. So by faith he followed where God led him toward the promised land.

Abraham knew that he was on a journey, but many times we in the church forget that we are indeed on a journey too. Not, a journey to a foreign land but a journey following God’s footsteps in fulfilling his commission to make disciples of all nations, a mission to love others, and to grow in our own spiritual maturity. As a church we too have been placed upon a path that we are called to go down together.

As I said last week, once we understand our purpose we can then begin to put together a plan that will lead us to our destination. This plan is the vision that will guide us. It will help us get to where God wants us to be, and we can only find this destination if we follow the vision that maps out our steps for our journey.