map or gps?

In a conversation with my 11-year-old friend and grandson, Silas, we talked about how a map and a GPS represent two aspects of being guided by God.  I love talking theology with this guy!

Silas doesn't have lots of experience with maps.  His Papi does.  I remember having maps of the New England and Mid-Atlantic States in the car, covering just about everywhere that vehicle might go.  A marked improvement was the AAA "Triptik", which created a personalized booklet of sequential maps needed for a distant destination.  Maps moved into the computer age with "Mapquest", resulting in the ability to choose routes and print the map.  Silas and I think this mapped approach to guidance is like having The Word of God, a printed Bible, which offers direction on almost 90% of the guidance one needs: Your Word is a Lamp for my feet and a Light on my path" (Psalm 119:105).  We are invited to hear, read, study, memorize, and meditate on God's Word so that we can properly "read" it when faced with the need for God's Guidance, whether we have it in our hands, on our devices, or in our hearts.

Silas has lots of experience with the GPS and all things electronic: it's his native language, whereas it's still somewhat foreign for his Papi.  Pre-Silas GPS versions used to scold a driver who deviated from the appointed course - "recalculating!" - but current models simply adjust to a new route towards the destination.  Silas and I think this GPS approach to guidance is like having The Holy Spirit within, the "Voice" of God saying, This is The Way; walk in it, whether one turns to the right or to the left (Isaiah 30:21).  We are invited to pray, to fast, to seek the counsel of others in seeking the particular Guidance of The Holy Spirit which the general Direction of His Word mustl always confirm.

For these two methods of guidance, both the driving and the living kind, need each other.  Relying solely on the GPS gives you the local view but loses the larger orientation provided by the map, just as relying solely on "The Spirit" will result in a self-centered view of life unless it's grounded in God's Word.  Relying solely on the map, particularly when driving, takes our eyes off the road ahead unless supplemented by the GPS, just as a slavish dependence on The Word alone needs the rubber-meets-the-road "God-breathed" Influence of The Holy Spirit so that God's Direction can properly be followed.

So, from Silas and me, "happy motoring!" on the roads this summer, and on the Road of Life in Christ.