I deeply and firmly believe that God created the world, I believe he did it in six days and rested on the seventh day. I believe that he created the planets, the atmosphere, the plants, the animals, Adam and Eve, and you and I. I believe that he is in full control of both good and evil. A God in control of evil, that allows evil, what kind of God is he? Well, what kind of God would he be if he couldn’t control evil and what if what we think is horrific and evil is actually the miraculous inner workings of a creator God that we can’t even fathom. I hate it when hard awful things happen, they are as unpleasant and painful to me as they are to the next human being. Yet, I acknowledge that God being God allows things for my good. It baffles my mind too how awful things can be for my good, but none the less I do believe that. I also believe I am only a visitor on planet earth, I believe earth is not my home, but a rental, loaned to me for however long my body breathes.
I have begun to think more of my time here on earth like I would a vacation with a hotel or rental I am only a visitor for a short time before I return to the place I call home. If I am a visitor with a rental car driving around the city, town, country, or mountainous region I am likely to get lost as I begin looking for the ski slope, beach, coffee shop, or fine dining experience. If I want to find directions to these places I’m probably not going to ask another weary travel like myself and if I do ask them they may look as confused and lost as I do. If I need directions I am going to find a local, someone who knows the ins and outs of the town, region, and lay of the land. Well, in this mortal coil we call earth, I believe God is my tour guide. I have begun to believe that I have gotten into my car and begun to drive around with no regard for how he meant for me to drive around. I think I know how to find my way around, I think I know the road rules for life on planet earth, but the closer I get to God, the further I have learned I’m winging it on my own and I’m sitting at the dead end road with my tires continuing to bump against the curb going know where and frustrated as I can’t get my car to keep going.
So, I stopped, I turned my car off, got out of the car, and I have begun to seek the Holy Spirit, my tour guide for life on planet earth. I have begun to ask the simplest questions, going back to the basics because I want to make sure I’m as close knit with the Holy Spirit as possible. The tour guide on a trip knows the history of the place, they know the future of the place, they know tidbits that I the tourist would other wise miss. He shows me what is important to him, what has always been important to him, this matters because what matters to him, matters to me! If I hang close enough he will teach me what is important and pretty soon I will be able to become a map to the tour guide. You see I believe the road map for each person is different, so a tour for you will be different than mine. Ours may seem similar, we may even go skiing together, we may hand out bread and water to the poor, we may smile and laugh at the same corny jokes, but there will be differences and the differences are enough that each must have ones own tour guide.
The great thing about my tour guide is that he is flexible and he doesn’t hold a tight reign on me. He knows that I am free spirited and that choices are a must in my life, he knows tying me down is the quickest way to loose me. So, he sits with coffee in hand and a grin on his face as he watches me run here and there as I forget to sit down and drink coffee with him (I don’t know if God really does this, but he made the coffee bean, and it makes me smile thinking of sipping some java with Jesus). You see sitting down with java, Jesus, and scripture is like sitting down and reading a map before beginning the journey. I have learned that each day is a long hard journey that must begin with a glimpse, sometimes an in depth study to get me on the right track for the day. It is the place where I am reminded to rest in the father’s arms for the day, being reminded that I am a mere mortal who needs to be carried everyday. I can be independent, I can choose to walk on my own, but I become a weary grumpy traveler that everyone runs away from and nobody, especially me, wants that! So, a java and Jesus is a must in the morning and a quiet stroll hand in hand is a must in the evenings. It’s the time when Jesus wipes the dirt and the mud from my face, he removes the blemishes from the day. The day must begin with analyzing the map for the day, it must end with a good debriefing and untangling from the day to fully experience each day with the tour guide.
I am a visitor and there is no use trying to dress and act like a native! I might as well admit I am a visitor, a tourist simply passing through on the way to glory in heaven. There is a road map, there is a tour guide, and I can chuck’em and wing it or I can accept the peaceful and joyful gift that is given to me! I don’t need wing it, I don’t need to pretend I have it all together, because I don’t! Look for me in this mortal coil, I’ll be the weirdo not blending in, but you can be sure I’ll have joy in my heart and peace in my soul.