For the longest time, my wife and I kept a Rand McNally atlas in the car. For you millennials that was a larger grouping of paper highway maps…every state in the USA. At the back of that “book”, we wrote down every state we had been too and where we had lived as a couple. We just called it “The Book”. I still keep in my vehicle, under the front seat.
But there really is only one road map…only one “The Book”. It’s the Word of God. What we call the Bible. Within it’s pages you’ll find the road map for the type of life you’ve been praying for. It is the blueprint for the most abundant life you or I could ever ask for. It offers a well spring of life to all who would adhere to it’s calling to follow Jesus, the risen Savior.
Now, if we aren’t careful, you can make it a rule book and offer up a lifestyle of legalism. That’s where you think God’s Word is good but not quite good enough so you add your own rules to how God has called us to live. Jesus addressed this with the religious leaders in his day. Just read Matthew 23 and you’ll discover how opposed Jesus was to legalistic thinking. It doesn’t fit for those who call themselves Jesus-followers.
But one could also move to the liberal side of reading God’s Word. It’s the thinking one believes God’s Word is good but we filter it due to culture. For example, you might read and believe Jesus calls us to care for the poor but you never reach out to the poor. You might believe God’s Word calls us to a daily prayerful life but you find you only pray when you’re in trouble. You might discover Jesus-followers gather to celebrate Jesus as a church but you only attend when it’s convenient for you. It’s the spirit of saying, “I know God’s Word says this, but I’m going to do that.”
What we all need to grasp is the Word of God is our map…it is our blueprint for life…the light to guide us on our way. When you and I decide to be in God’s Word every day, discovering how the carpenter from Nazareth has called us to follow him, we’ll discover we have the most blessed life possible. So, get into God’s Word. Follow the risen Savior. Get illuminated with God’s words. Blessings on your journey.